With Management Company Out, Stadium's Future is Uncertain in Cape Town

The city of Cape Town had justified the major expense it was taking on to build the brand new Green Point Stadium for the 2010 World Cup by pointing to the fact that it had contracted a management group to make sure the stadium remained in use and pulled in revenue. But now that company has pulled out and the city's $639 million stadium is treading towards white elephant territory.

Capetonians are divided over whether the stadium is an elegant icon or a useless monument to South Africa’s excessive spending on the World Cup. Other stadiums – such as the 45,000-seater Mbombela stadium in Nelspruit, which cost R1.3bn (€134m), and the Peter Mokaba stadium in Polokwane (cost: R1.25m) were always expected to become white elephants. But Cape Town’s stylish stadium was the most expensive of the 10 World Cup venues, leading everyone to believe that the number crunchers considered it sustainable.

The empty stadiums: South Africa’s white elephants
Monocle
October 21, 2010

Nelspruit Worries About Future of its World Cup Stadium

Concerns are growing in Nelspruit that the $183 million stadium the province built for the 2010 World Cup (of which it hosted 4 matches) will be able to find a permanent user or sustainable business model.

“No team has yet been approached to make the stadium its home base, and this matter will be dealt with when the business model is finalised,” said interim manager for the stadium, Roelf Kotze, on Monday.

...Kotze said the pitch is suitable for soccer and rugby matches and has the same dimensions as the pitch at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto, where the Super 14 Final Rugby Match was played recently. Kotze said organisers of other events had, however, shown interest in using the stadium.

Mbombela white elephant?
Sport 24
July 12, 2010

Justifying the Costs of Stadium Construction

This blog post from The Christian Science Monitor looks at stadium construction across the world and how officials are justifying their major capital costs.

In South Africa, the circus has left town. Actually, it’s been nearly three weeks since a game was played in Nelspruit or Polokwane, nothern cities where there is “no rugby or soccer team within hundreds of km.” The next game may be a long way off. That there may not earn enough future revenue to pay for maintenance doesn’t seem to worry those in the spotlight. Says archbishop Tutu: “With all the negative things that are taking place in Africa, this is a superb moment for us. If we are going to have white elephants, so be it.”

Update: global stadium construction
The Christian Science Monitor
July 13, 2010

Port Elizabeth's White Elephant Stadium

People in Port Elizabeth are worried about the long-term viability of its new stadium. Economists are arguing that the stadium won't be able to pay for its maintenance costs after the World Cup is over.

"In the South African case, all the stadiams were either renovated or constructed by the government. That means that the commercial consideration was never primary," said economist Stan du Plessis of Stellenbosch University.

"Some of these stadiums are simply not going to be in a position to cover their running costs. In that sense, they will be loss making."

'South Africans left with white elephants'
Independent Online
May 23, 2010