The Cape Town city council will prepare for Green Point to host a 2010 Soccer World Cup semifinal match in the hope that the national government will deliver on its financial promises.
”We accept in good faith the national government’s commitment to these costs, but we need to know for sure before we sign the final contracts,” mayor Helen Zille said on Thursday.
”We cannot sign contracts unless we are 100% sure, otherwise we will end up with the bath water and not the baby.”
Zille said a ”significant upward revision” is needed to the cost estimations. National government allocations for the project have to be known by November.
The council can afford to spend no more than R400-million, with a new 68 000-seater stadium for Green Point estimated to require about R4,3-billion.
The rest of the money would have to come from the national government or world soccer body Fifa. Fifa has decided on Cape Town and Durban as the host cities for the 2010 semifinal matches.
Zille said she had met Deputy Minister of Finance Jabu Moleketi, who had assured her ”we are on the same page on the costs”.
If a shortfall arose, alternative funding would have to be sought, failing which the city would lobby to be allowed to host the semifinal at the smaller Newlands stadium.
The design of a stadium for Green Point would, in the meantime, proceed without delay, Zille said. Construction is to start in January next year.
A study commissioned by the council has found Green Point to be the only feasible city venue for hosting a world cup semifinal.
An analysis of six possible venues revealed that Green Point posed the lowest risk on an overall balance of affordability, long-term sustainability and time constraints.
Culemborg was a close contender, but there was not enough time to resolve issues around land acquisition, said the council’s executive director of transport Mike Marsden.
Land earmarked for the Culemborg stadium was owned by Transnet and the national government, with plans to sell it at market value to cover recapitalisation costs.
”This pushes the site beyond all levels of affordability,” said Zille.
Marsden said Culemborg would have been the best site for ”positioning the city for future economic development”.
The existing Newlands stadium, in turn, did not meet the 68 000-seat requirement for hosting a semifinal.
But Zille said world soccer body Fifa will be urged to consider accepting a 55 000-seater stadium, in which case Newlands remains an option. ”It would make it so much more affordable.”
Wingfield, Blue Downs and Athlone should not be considered as host venues at all, the study by private consultants and council experts has found.
Compared with the R4,3-billion for Green Point, estimated costs for semifinal stadia at the other venues ranged from R1,79-billion for a revamped Newlands, to R4,49-billion for Blue Downs.
Another R900-million will have to be invested in transport infrastructure to and from Green Point.
Marsden warned that sustaining a 68 000-seater stadium after 2010 would be ”extremely challenging”.
Newlands, with 55 000 seats, attracts no more than 48 000 spectators for a match between the New Zealand All Blacks and ”a competitive South African side”.
For the Green Point stadium to remain financially viable, provincial rugby and soccer bodies will have to work out a full calendar of sporting and concert events.
Cape Town is also bidding to host the World Cup opening event and a quarterfinal match. — Sapa