A R30-million offer from two competing banks to finance the construction of the South African Rugby Institute at Alicedale has delayed the project by a few months, but the world-class sporting facility is expected to be ready by the second half of next year.

However, South African Rugby and the Bushman Sands Developments, a private sector and government partnership, have agreed on all other aspects of the deal.

Land has been identified, and plans and operating budgets drawn up, leaving only the decision on the bond, Bushman Sands Developments director Jonathan Bishop said.

The Springboks will be using the institute for training, as will the Springbok Sevens, and the under-19 and under-21 squads, and referees and medical assistants in the coming years.

To get to Alicedale, they will travel on tar roads, Bushman Sands hotel, golf course and estate and game reserve general manager Herman Muller said.

On Tuesday, Muller showed The Herald the large piece of ground which would be used for two rugby fields and the construction of two complexes, expected to cater for all the players' sporting needs. Bishop said that after a number of positive workshops with SA Rugby, all that was left before the deal was signed, was to agree on which bond option to take.

He said Standard and Absa banks were offering the R30-million. Finalising the financing had led to a delay of "a few months".

"We are finalising the finance for the building operation, which has been done, and securing funds for the first couple of years of operating expenses," Bishop said.

Bushman Sands Development will own the buildings. The entire complex will be rented by SA Rugby on a long lease.

The two rugby fields, which will be in an L-shape, will be on Spoornet land adjacent to the Alicedale railway sidings. The land has been leased for 20 years.

Bishop expected the first sod to be turned in the second half of this year, with completion of the project in a year.

He said the first of two building complexes would comprise offices, physiotherapy rooms, a medical room, a high-performance gym with cardio weights, an indoor sprinting track, an indoor pool with jets to swim against the current, a cafeteria, an auditorium, two or three conference breakaway rooms, a media briefing area, and two pavilions for coaches and spectators.

The second complex would provide accommodation for the players and SA Rugby staff.

Bishop said the facility would be "as good, if not better" than any other in the world.

"It's absolutely magnificent. The scope is bigger than what we anticipated, which is fantastic for Alicedale," he said.

The institute would be the base for 30 of South Africa's top under-19 players, who would be selected "as they leave school" for a year of "intense training" while being groomed for a professional career.

Coaches, referees and medical attendants would also be trained at the institute.

The proposed site for the institute is about 150 metres from the Bushman Sands golf club and hotel buildings.

Muller said the provincial government and the Makana municipality had announced that Alicedale's dirt roads to the institute would be tarred. Two other fields in Alicedale, one of them in the township, would also be upgraded at a cost of R4,5-million, so the town would have four top-class rugby fields.

He said the SA Rugby Institute was one of a number of developments in the town. The developments included three new guest houses, six homes on the golf estate, a government-sponsored bakery and refurbishment of the Alicedale town hall.

Eastern Province Herald