Bye Bye Cape Town for WC 2010

[Perks]

From News24:

CT could lose 2010 status
05/12/2006 18:05 - (SA)

Cape Town - Possible court action by citizens citing environmental concerns could cost South Africa's tourist hub of Cape Town its status as a host city for the 2010 football World Cup.

Residents say the proposed 68 000-seater stadium in Green Point will rob the city of much-needed public amenities but Sports Minister Makhenkesi Stofile will ask cabinet to take away Cape Town's host status if they do not back down.

"If the process in Cape Town is delayed, and this in turn delays our overall preparations, we will have to move it to another place," Stofile's spokesperson Bonginkosi Sishi said.

Stofile's stance even has the backing of the Western Cape provincial government which fears a court battle will severely delay construction work.

"It will be sad for Cape Town to lose this great development in terms of infrastructure," provincial sports minister Whitey Jacobs told AFP.

"No one could guarantee the time frames within a court process. The issue here is that we must deliver a stadium."

Appeal against planning permission to build

David Polovin, chair of the Green Point Common Association, said court action depended on the outcome of an appeal against planning permission to build the stadium at an 80 hectare site which currently houses a golf course and other public amenities.

"The common is there for a purpose, it is not a wasteland. It is a breathing space," said Polovin.

"If we want to be a world class city we must have world-class facilities, which must include green open spaces."

The association has suggested the existing Newlands or Athlone stadia as alternatives.

But Tumi Makgabo, spokesperson for the Fifa local organising committee, ruled other venues out.

"If the Green Point stadium does not become a reality, we will have to start looking at other venues in other cities."

Ten stadiums in nine cities have been identified as match hosts.

Pieter Cronje, spokesperson for the Cape Town city council's 2010 project team, said construction must start at Green Point soon to meet Fifa deadlines.

"If we are not on site towards the end of February we will be running into problems. We won't have enough room to manoeuvre."

Cape Town is the best city in SA. Especially for tourism. If the WC 2010 does not have a match there, the whole WC might as well be cancelled...

 

[kronoSX]

Now that sucks big time.
Why must the they always complain.But luckily there is a good mayor ,that can see things through and comprimize

 

[schitz011]

Cape Town is the best city in SA. Especially for tourism. If the WC 2010 does not have a match there, the whole WC might as well be cancelled...

Please, get it into your head that the whole country doesn't revolve around your crap city.

The WC will be cancelled in SA anyway..

The only good thing about CPT is the road out of it.

 

[Syndyre]

Wonder if its just a coincidence that its the only major opposition-controlled city?

 

[MrG]

Please, get it into your head that the whole country doesn't revolve around your crap city.

The WC will be cancelled in SA anyway..

The only good thing about CPT is the road out of it.

Insensitive, and hostile. Not good a sign

 

[Alan]

Wonder if its just a coincidence that its the only major opposition-controlled city?

Alas it actually could be.

This government has a history of shooting themselves in the foot.

 

[Gunny]

Most folks want it its the Greenpoint residents accossiation that dnt want their common touched. I dnt know why though because as it is at the moment its a wasteland inhabited by homeless.

 

[Syndyre]

Alas it actually could be.

This government has a history of shooting themselves in the foot.

True, its a rare talent.

 

[BTTB]

Right to Appeal

I think everyone is being too harsh on The Residents that are Appealing.
For a start it is their right to appeal.

The Mayor or nobody for that matter should try and circumnavigate the law or make comments about what people should or shouldn't do. Actually saying that they must be on site by a certain time framework etc, is an infraction of the law to a certain extent IMO.
It is saying that come the end of the Appeal Process we are going to start building!?
But fails to mention that The Appeal Process and the result of that process have still to be heard.
What if the Development is thrown out at the Appeal Process?

The Residents feel that because Council and Province have got political pressure bearing on them to produce a Stadium in Cape Town they must push the Development through. This is nonsense.
This planning stage should have happened within a year of us being awarded the 2010 Soccer World Cup. They would have been past this point already.
Now that time is of the essence, it is The Residents fault that they are objecting and holding up The Development.
The Residents can only object once they have the papers and plans to object against and how long has that been?

In other threads I have proposed other suitable sites for the 2010 Soccer World Cup in Cape Town and even sent these plans for attention of The Mayor et al.
Not even a reply or acknowledgement.
Getting used to been ignored by Council Officials.

Does anyone here not living in Cape Town know that it can take an hour and a half to travel to the City Bowl in the traffic. What the heck is it going to look like in 2010?
Personally I think the City of Cape Town with National Government holding back on funds have been the root cause of why we are no nearer to a conclusion than when we were at the time of the granting of the 2010 SWC.
For a start The Mayor of Cape Town had to ask National Government this year how much Cape Town was getting in the way of funds. Why? This should be the other way around. National Government took it upon itself to bid for 2010. Cape Town just didn't want to sit with the bill.
Also FIFA. Why must they insist on Green Point when Newlands or Athlone could/would do. It is only a semi final. Perhaps the setting under Table Mountain was what lured them to that position. Even the massive investment in hotels and property at The Waterfront in anticipation of the event.
All revolves around big money in that area IMHO.

And why not spend 2 Billion on the Cape Flats where it is needed and where the people that actually play soccer live.
There are still other options that could work, but too little too late for that now.

 

[Syndyre]

Also FIFA. Why must they insist of Green Point when Newlands or Athlone could do. It is only a semi final. Perhaps the setting under Table Mountain was what lured them to that position

So is it FIFA demanding that site?

 

[BTTB]

So is it FIFA demanding that site?

As far as my understanding of the situation goes. Yes.
Green Point for the semi final and Athlone for the guys to practice.
They want a 68K stadium, whereas Newlands can only take about 50K.
Cannot remember the exact figures.

Even Newlands is a bit of a disaster area when Rugby or other sport are played there. People cannot find parking. Probably a lot use the trains?
Wherever you go it will be a parking fiasco.

The only thing with Green Point is that it is far on the one side of Cape Town and not Central. So just about everybody unless you live in the area have to travel via the M5, N1 etc to get there.

Oh well. I hope the SWC is successful. Just hope it doesn't cost us more than it is worth.

 

[Syndyre]

As far as my understanding of the situation goes. Yes.
Green Point for the semi final and Athlone for the guys to practice.
They want a 68K stadium, whereas Newlands can only take about 50K.
Cannot remember the exact figures.

Ok so its not so much a location issue as a capacity issue. Thought maybe they didn't want a semi-final in an area like the Cape Flats.

Even Newlands is a bit of a disaster area when Rugby or other sport are played there. People cannot find parking. Probably a lot use the trains?
Wherever you go it will be a parking fiasco.

The only thing with Green Point is that it is far on the one side of Cape Town and not Central. So just about everybody unless you live in the area have to travel via the M5, N1 etc to get there.

Oh well. I hope the SWC is successful. Just hope it doesn't cost us more than it is worth.

Just hope the public transport's up to scratch by 2010, if everyone starts hiring cars and driving it'll be a disaster. Think Zille was right to make sure the national govt was paying for it anyway.

 

[BTTB]

Ok so its not so much a location issue as a capacity issue. Thought maybe they didn't want a semi-final in an area like the Cape Flats.



Just hope the public transport's up to scratch by 2010, if everyone starts hiring cars and driving it'll be a disaster. Think Zille was right to make sure the national govt was paying for it anyway.

Yes, Capacity.

The Cape Flats is quite vast. It really just means the flat area between the the back of Table Mountain up to about The Strand and the hilly areas above Somerset West. People sometimes equate the Cape Flats only to Khyalitsha and/or Mitchells Plein.
There was a time before The Settlers developed The Cape Colony that a continuous water system linked False Bay to Table Bay.

It could also be an issue of FIFA etc not wanting thousands of tourists wandering around in less formal areas, for the choice of better words.
Rather close to all the major Hotels, B&B's and built up areas.

Lets await the outcome of this Appeal and if these Residents still need to take their objections to Court?
Council has lots of Ratepayers money to fight Ratepayers with in Court.

 

[Gunny]

Fifa is asking for that particular site but it will be a semi-final site to so that means that infrastructure in and around the area is going to be upgraded to.
I have been listening to Cape Talk for the past few weeks were this issue has been debated, a hot topic of debate for a while now.
We all know government is not going to shift those funds somewhere else, they made it available for the WC and its national funding not provincial if it was provincial I'd be just as upset as the money could be used for better causes. That piece of land needs to be upgraded and it could now be with the metro spending minimal funds and if an infrastructure upgrade is thrown in to boot I dont see why not. As i can see it its a use it or lose it senario.

 

[kilps]

Please, get it into your head that the whole country doesn't revolve around your crap city.
...
The only good thing about CPT is the road out of it.

Do I come into you city and call it crap? You know what - I like living here

The WC will be cancelled in SA anyway..

and what makes you say that?

 

[Syndyre]

People sometimes equate the Cape Flats only to Khyalitsha and/or Mitchells Plein.

That was my (incorrect) impression.

It could also be an issue of FIFA etc not wanting thousands of tourists wandering around in less formal areas, for the choice of better words.
Close to all the major Hotels, B&B's and built up areas.

Lets await the outcome of this Appeal and if these Residents still need to take their objections to Court?
Council has lots of Ratepayers money to fight Ratepayers with in Court.

The tourists in "less formal" areas was what I was getting at. Wonder who's interests the council would put first, national govt's or the citizens that actually fund them.

 

[BTTB]

That was my (incorrect) impression.

The term "Cape Flats" has definitely got a connotation to it.
I think this goes back a long time, when anything below the railway line was just bush.
Then with the Group Areas Act the Government started dumping people towards the Cape Flats.
With a small twist that nobody speaks of they Expropriated White Farms on the Flats/Vlak for a pittance to accommodate the Coloured People.
I feel sad when I think what a raw deal the coloured people got with the forced removals.
However not all is bad. The Cape Flats is OK. Not all areas of course, but it is growing fast and some of the previously disadvantaged coloured areas are now plush suburbs.
Rylands, Fairways to name just two that sprang to mind.

 

[Syndyre]

The term "Cape Flats" has definitely got a connotation to it.
I think this goes back a long time, when anything below the railway line was just bush.
Then with the Group Areas Act the Government started dumping people towards the Cape Flats.
With a small twist that nobody speaks of they Expropriated White Farms on the Flats/Vlak for a pittance to accommodate the Coloured People.
I feel sad when I think what a raw deal the coloured people got with the forced removals.
However not all is bad. The Cape Flats is OK. Not all areas of course, but it is growing fast and some of the previously disadvantaged coloured areas are now plush suburbs.
Rylands, Fairways to name just two that sprang to mind.

News reports don't help either I suppose, don't know CT well enough to know the finer details, glad its improving anyway.

 

[Wisemansa]

and durban ..........

edit: im on a nelson

 

[Balstrome]

Talking to people who know people who work with folk in the no so legal side of things, there is talk of planning how to make the most money from the tourists and other visitors to the WC, and how much it is going to cost for protection. One other thing mentioned is there may be a possible grant from the goverment to help make crime free zones.