2010 World Cup
The Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg is to undergo a major upgrade for the 2010 tournament, with a new design inspired by traditional African pottery and a revamped capacity for 104 000 football fans. The stadium will hold the final and opening matches, five first-round matches, one second-round match and one quarter-final. Architect: Boogertman Urban Edge & Partners.
South Africa ‘on track’ for 2010
South Africa is on track, if not ahead of schedule, in its preparations for hosting the 2010 Fifa World Cup, according to local organising committee CEO Danny Jordaan.
Briefing journalists in Johannesburg on Wednesday along with committee chairperson Irvin Khoza, Jordaan said that planning, environmental impact assessments, contracts, legal issues and matters of compliance with Fifa standards would all be sorted out by the end of 00, and that the “operational phase” would begin in 00. “In the current phase we are dealing with the contracts of host cities, stadiums and companies,” Jordaan said. “We are also dealing with legal issues.” South Africa was ahead of where Germany was at a comparative stage, Jordaan said, adding: “We are ahead of the schedule between us and Fifa and they are happy with our progress.” Plans for 0 stadiums in the nine host cities, and their funding, had been completed, Jordaan said, and construction work would begin early in 00. According to The Star, the committee has set the following targets for completion of South Africa’s 00 stadiums: • Soccer City (FNB Stadium), Johannesburg (upgrade) - 0 months
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• King Senzangakhona Stadium, Durban (construction) - 4 months • Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane (construction)- 8 months • Loftus Versveld Stadium, Pretoria (upgrade) - 8 months • Greenpoint Stadium, Cape Town (upgrade) - months • Nelson Mandela Stadium, Port Elizabeth (construction) - 4 months • Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg (upgrade) - 0 months • Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein (upgrade) - 8 months • Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg (upgrade) - 9 months • Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit (construction) - months Jordaan compared Soccer City - where the final match will be played in 00 - with Germany's Berlin Stadium, which took 48 months to complete, whereas South Africa would finish Soccer City in 0 months. Jordaan said there would be a "tight planning, monitoring and control process" to make sure that the municipalities responsible for stadium
construction and refurbishment met these targets. According to Business Day, the board of the committee has appointed a technical team of architects, engineers and surveyors to help the municipalities. The construction industry had been consulted and "they all felt the deadlines were realistic," Business Day quoted Jordaan as saying. Jordaan said South Africa would exceed Fifa's requirement of being able to accommodate 55 000 football fans in 00. The committee, he said, had already contracted 9 000 rooms - compared to the 0 000 that Germany had contracted at the comparative stage. Jordaan also emphasised that South Africa had the ability to safeguard every person coming to the World Cup. The country "has demonstrated the ability to safeguard big events," he said. "It has demonstrated that in the [995] Rugby World Cup, the [00] World Summit on Sustainable Development and the [00] Cricket World Cup." He added that Parliament had approved the 00 Fifa Special Measures Bill declaring the World Cup a "protected event" to guard it against "ambush marketing".
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Greenpoint Stadium in Cape Town, Western Cape, is to be specially built for 2010, with a retractable roof and a capacity of 70 000. It will host six first-round matches, one second-round, one quarter-final and one semifinal match.
Loftus Versveld stadium in Pretoria, Gauteng, is to undergo minor upgrades for 2010, and has a capacity of 45 000. It will host four first-round matches and one second-round.
The Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg, North West, is to undergo a minor upgrade, increasing its capacity to 45 000. It will host four first-round matches and one secondround.
The King Senzangakhona Stadium in Durban, KwaZuluNatal, is to be specially built for 2010, with a capacity of 80 000. It will host six first-round matches, one second-round, and one semifinal match.
Ellis Park in Johannesburg, Gauteng, is to undergo minor upgrades for 2010, and has a capacity of 60 000. It will host five first-round matches, one second-round and one quarter-final.
The Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane is to undergo a major upgrade, increasing its capacity to 40 000. It will host four first-round matches.
The Nelson Mandela Stadium in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, is to be specially built for 2010, with a capacity of 50 000. It will host five first-round matches, one second-round, one quarter-final, and the third-place playoff.
The Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, Free State, is to have a major upgrade, with a third tier added, increasing its capacity to 45 000. It will host five first-round matches and one second-round.
The Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga, is to be specially built, with a capacity of 30 000. It will host four first-round matches.
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