Sports Bring Flood of Cash to SA

South Africa is welcoming three sporting events in the next few months that will provide the country with a large amount of investment. The infusion of investment will bring the equivalent of 1% of South Africa's GDP within the next four months.

As the rest of the world reels from the global financial meltdown, cricket's Indian Premier League, the British and Irish Lions rugby tour and Fifa Confederations' Cup will see the equivalent of 1 percent of the country's gross domestic product unleashed in the local economy.

...Durban will be one of the main beneficiaries of the sporting bonanza.

The city's hotels are expected to be fully booked when it stages 16 of the IPL matches and two games of the Lions tour - one against the Sharks and the other a Test against the Springboks in June - and then the Springboks play the All Blacks in a Tri-Nations match in August, all at Absa Stadium.

Source:
'Sport for us has become an important tool'
Independent Online
April 11, 2009