From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Greenpoint Stadium is a planned multi-use stadium in Cape Town, South Africa.^[1] It will be the one of the stadiums that hosts matches during 2010 FIFA World Cup. The stadium will have a capacity of 68,000 people and is expected to host the opening match and a semi-final. Following the World Cup, it will be used mostly for football and rugby union matches.

The stadium is to be located at Green Point between Table Mountain and the Atlantic Ocean, replacing the existing Greenpoint Stadium. It should be completed by the end of 2008 before South Africa hosts the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2009 as a test event for the World Cup the following year.

In mid 2006 it was reported that the Western Province Rugby Union may become tenants at the stadium post-2010. The chief reason for the move from the traditional rugby ground at Newlands Stadium is so the stadium has a sustainable base after the Football World Cup (sustainability is a strong objection raised by those who contend that the building of such an expensive stadium is not a productive task for a developing industrial nation). The consultants to the City of Cape Town originally approached Western Province with the idea, as well as talking to football clubs Ajax Cape Town and Santos. It is possible that the Stormers may move in as well if the Western Province leaves Newlands, though nothing has been confirmed as of yet.

The decision to build a new stadium as opposed to redeveloping the existing world famous stadium at Newlands for approximately half the price has been questioned by many local tax payers.^[2]

The Murray & Roberts/WBHO (Pty) Ltd joint venture has been named by Cape Town's Bid Adjudication Committee as the preferred choice to build the 2010 World Cup stadium, but the company will only clinch the deal if, after further negotiations, the projected total cost of R3,7-billion can be significantly reduced.

The city has set the budget for the building of the 68 000-seat stadium and all its ancillary infrastructure on Green Point Common at R2,48-billion, creating a shortfall of over R1-billion.

Dave Hugo, of the city's technical team for 2010, said on Monday: "We are not saying we will be able to close the gap completely, but we will do our best."

He said further negotiations with the preferred bidder would seek to understand how the tender amount was calculated and whether the company had built in risks that could be omitted.

Officials emphasised yesterday that this decision should not be viewed as the awarding of the contract to Murray & Roberts. The recommendation is that the committee engage in further negotiations with Murray & Roberts.

According to the committee's report, "the provisional project cost (of R3,7-billion) exceeds available sources of funding, which will need to be augmented before the submission of a further report recommending the award of the tender".

Hugo said that while there was no time-frame for the discussions, the city planned to have the award concluded "within weeks".

The tendered scope of the works would not be altered during the negotiation period. Should negotiations be unsuccessful, the committee would have to reassess its decision, said David Dunn of the city's legal office.

BAC chairman Hans Smit said it was not a fait accompli that the second bidder on the shortlist would automatically become the preferred bidder.

Murray & Roberts took the top slot on the shortlist of tenders, beating Group Five Building (Pty) Ltd and Steffanutti & Bressan Civils (Pty) Ltd/Constructora do Tamega SA with its bid offer.

The City of Cape Town named the joint venture of Murray & Roberts and WBHO as the preferred bidder.

=Cape Town's 2010 Soccer World Cup stadium is back on track with a R185-million funding guarantee from banking group Investec.

The city put the R2,9-billion project on hold last week when revised costings pushed the total beyond budget.

Zille said on Wednesday that Investec had guaranteed the outstanding R185-million as payment on a post-2010 operating lease on the stadium, to be built at Green Point.

But, she emphasised that this would not give the banking group an inside track on the bidding for the lease.

The guarantee would kick in only in the unlikely event that the bids that did come in were lower than R185-million

Both Investec and the city anticipate that the offer of R185-million should be exceeded by other bidders during an open bid process, which will result in the city accepting the most favourable offer," she said.

"I guarantee you they are getting no preferential treatment."

She said she was extremely grateful to Investec for "this gesture that will enable Cape Town to participate in the 2010 Soccer World Cup in the way envisaged by Fifa".

She said stadiums were not Investec's business, but the group understood the implications of 2010 being a failure, and wanted to make sure it did not happen.

The new-look stadium budget, including the Investec guarantee, which would be put before the full council on Thursday for approval, would clear the way for the award of the construction tender.

"Last week this time, we thought we would not be able to go ahead with this project," said Zille.

She said the city had approached the national Treasury to cover the shortfall, but Treasury had indicated it had reached its ceiling.

"We said to Treasury 'and we have reached our ceiling'," she said.

"It was clear if we did not find an alternative source of funding we would have to can the project."

Zille said another issue the council had raised with Treasury - the need for a central government guarantee to cover escalation above the 10 percent the city has already provided for - remained unresolved.

However, Treasury had undertaken to put together a task team to examine the issue.

According to documents put before the mayoral committee on Wednesday, the task team would look at how "excess" escalation is to be managed for all host cities, not just Cape Town.

Mayoral committee member for finance Ian Nielson, said post-2010 cash flows had not previously been factored into the financing of the stadium, and at this stage the city did not have any offer on the table from potential operators.

He said the R185-million would come from the council's own funding "at this stage", but because it was set off against future income, it would not result in rates hikes.

The city was looking at a 30-year lease, starting in 2011.

Projections showed a resultant cash flow of at least R260-million at net present value to the city, Nielson said.

Of the total stadium cost of R2,7-billion, R1,9-billion would come from central government, R500-million plus the Investec-guaranteed R185-million from the city, and R212-million from the Western Cape provincial government

[edit] References =

[edit] External links

• African Renaissance Stadium