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SA’s 10 stadiums are ready to host the 2010 Soccer World Cup — now the fans need to come to the party, say the organisers.

And no expense is being spared to make sure that Africa’s first World Cup will be a success. The national government will have contributed R11,7bn to the construction of five new stadiums, and the upgrade of five existing stadiums, says Treasury spokeswoman Thoraya Pandy.

The previous finance minister, Trevor Manuel, said in 2007 that R8,4bn had been set aside for stadiums.

Municipalities have had to pay their share, too.

Gaynor Mashamaite-Noyce, spokeswoman for the City of Johannesburg, says while the city has budgeted R257m for upgrading Ellis Park Stadium, the surrounding precinct is benefiting from a R2bn refurbishment.

Soccer City Stadium, at Nasrec in southern Johannesburg, will be completed this month, except for the fitting of hospitality suites, with a total budget of R3,8bn.

Another R200m is being spent on precinct upgrading, including roads and a transport hub.

The Cape Town Stadium has been built at a cost of R4,5bn, with the city contributing R600m.

The 2010 local organising committee says it is satisfied with the state of readiness.

“On our side, we will deliver the games. We’re not worried at all,” says Rich Mkhondo, spokesman for the committee.

Even Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit, which was delayed by striking workers and has had to recast its pitch, will be hosting its first soccer match in March.

The city’s 2010 co-ordinator, Differ Mogale, says the launch event is still being planned but will feature Ghana and possibly Bosnia-Herzegovina. Negotiations are under way for a double header, with Angola and Mozambique on the bill too.

Although the stadium has had to recast the pitch due to drainage concerns, this will be completed by Friday. The stadium will be ready by the end of next month.

The stadium’s project manager, Neil Fourie, from Platinum Sport Consulting, says the pitch has been redone at no cost to the city. “The pitch was fine. It was actually much better than most pitches we play international rugby and soccer on,” he says.

Although June and July are not part of Mpumalanga’s rainy season, Fourie says the city has decided not to risk an unseasonal downpour an hour before a World Cup match.

Work has been delayed due to rains last month, but contractors have worked through the Christmas break, he says.

The Cape Town Stadium, in Green Point, was completed on December 14 and handed over to the city exactly on schedule, according to Nick Whitely, spokesman for the City of Cape Town.

In a statement, the city says Green Point is the birthplace of soccer in SA, with the first recorded game played in 1862.

It is therefore fitting that eight World Cup matches would be played on this site, the city says.

However, the great progress with the nation’s readiness has been dampened by ticket sales, which have become a concern.

“South Africans should be buying tickets,” Mkhondo says.

So far, 72% of applications for tickets have been made by South Africans. But in the previous World Cup, in 2006, 85% of ticket applications had been made by the same date by Germans, whose country was the host then, Mkhondo says.

“We want to see more South Africans and more Africans buying tickets.”

While he acknowledges that the recession could play a role in slowing down ticket sales, Mkhondo also says that South Africans have a culture of buying tickets at the last minute.

“We have not received an avalanche of ticket (requests),” he says. “It’s a challenge, how to make sure people know that tickets are available.”

A total of 3,7-million tickets will be available for the 64 games of the World Cup.

The tickets are being sold in five phases, with the first four phases seeing fans apply for a set number of tickets, with holders selected lottery style.

The fifth and final phase will consist of returned and unsold tickets, or tickets that companies or individuals have applied for but elected not to buy.

So far, sales have been slow.

Mkhondo says 680000 tickets have been sold in the first two phases.

The third phase, currently under way, has seen 700000 applications for 1-million tickets.

Applications for this round of tickets will close on January 22.

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We have not received an avalanche of requests. It’s a challenge, to make people know tickets are available

Source: Business Day