Tuesday 9 June 2009

SA’s first newly-built 2010 stadium complete

This weekend the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in the Eastern Cape Province became the first newly-built stadium to be opened for 2010 FIFA World Cup.

A public opening was hosted by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality on Sunday. More than 25 000 residents of the city attended.

Deputy Executive Mayor, Councillor Bicks Ndoni, said the public opening gave residents the chance to see first-hand the stadium’s “state-of-the-art facilities, experience its beauty, warmth and uniqueness, and bask in the glory and pride of knowing that we are the joint owners of a truly world-class facility”.

“Today’s first opening of a newly-built 2010 FIFA World Cup stadium is a huge boost,” said the Organising Committee’s Chief Executive Officer Dr Danny Jordaan, who attended the stadium’s opening.

“[It] is a huge credit to the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. It’s a tribute to their project management capability, the construction company and the workers that they managed to complete the stadium in record time,” he added.

Situated on the shores of the North End Lake in Port Elizabeth, the multipurpose stadium will seat 48 000 people. Eight World Cup games, including a third and fourth place playoff and a quarter final, will take place at the new stadium.

The stadium will host its first competitive game next week when the touring British & Irish Lions rugby team play a local Southern Kings Invitational side on 16 June 2009.

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