Newlands Stadium should be sold and the funds distributed to clubs
15 Jan 2015 | Liz McGregor
Model can be found that combines rugby excellence with elusive but important goal of nation building, writes Liz McGregor
WESTERN Province Rugby Football Union released a startling statement a week before Christmas, which, predictably — and possibly, deliberately — was largely ignored because most people were already on holiday.
The union announced that, at a special general meeting held the day before, it had been unanimously decided that they would not, after all, be moving to the Cape Town Stadium.
This came as a surprise, not least to the City of Cape Town, with whom they had long been in negotiations.
As a rugby fan, moving to Cape Town Stadium seemed to me to be a no-brainer. It’s situated in one of the city’s most beautiful neighbourhoods and is easy to get to by public transport. The adjacent Sea Point swimming pool and promenade are a magnet for Capetonians of all races.
The Cape Town Stadium itself is modern, built to the highest international standards. It has the wonderful 5km fan walk from the station, which, as we know from the 2010 Soccer World Cup, not only enhances the pre-game "gees" but also spreads the brand and the game to the general public.
Above all, the stadium is safe. Officials guarantee that, in the event of an emergency, they can evacuate a capacity crowd in less than 10 minutes.
This is important because, at the end of last year, the grace period allowed to stadiums to jack up their safety procedures to comply with the Safety at Sports and Recreational Events Act of 2010 came to an end.
Newlands Stadium is not compliant. Fans, particularly in the higher-level suites, might feel a flicker of anxiety as they navigate staircases, cluttered with smokers, some of whom drop cigarette butts on the floor. One shudders to think of what might happen if there were a fire and a mass stampede.
Newlands faithful cite its history in its favour. But what about its many years of shameful history when people of colour were penned into segregated stands and teams were all white?
In its shock statement, the union gave as its main reason for deciding to stay at Newlands that it owns the stadium outright and "is therefore in complete control of its own destiny".
A valid point. But it could also be looked at differently.
The 90-odd clubs which make up the Western Province Rugby Football Union are sitting on a huge asset.
Perhaps it is time for some blue-sky thinking in one of rugby’s most fertile provinces. Why not sell the stadium and its valuable grounds and divide the money among the clubs? In return, they could give up their claims on the professional arm of the union.
The Stormers and Western Province teams could be owned and run as a separate entity (and hopefully the confusing dual titles — Western Province for the Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup teams and Stormers for Super Rugby — could be dropped in favour of a single name).
Perhaps a consortium of businessmen could make a bid for the teams. This needn’t be a coldly commercial enterprise. It could be stipulated that the owners are Western Cape-based and that independent directors who are trusted public figures be included on the board.
Why not Brimstone’s Fred Robertson, or Johann Rupert? Perhaps Trevor Manuel could be persuaded to be involved?
The Stormers and Western Province teams already have a separate training base at the High Performance Centre in Bellville. The Cape Town Stadium would become their home ground.
The City of Cape Town is desperate to do a deal with rugby to offset its R40m annual running costs. They’d be easy prey for sharp negotiators, especially if the Cape Town Stadium could boost tourism with high-level international rugby games being regularly held there.
A split between club rugby and professional rugby would be beneficial to both. Western Cape club rugby is thriving: many villages have their own teams and they are an important source of cohesion for their communities. They also throw up gems: such as Gio Aplon, whose home town, Hawston, has a very active club.
But most need funds. A one-off injection, carefully invested, from the proceeds of the sale of the Newlands Stadium would surely be welcome.
Professional rugby in the Western Cape does not achieve anything like its real potential.
Given the talent at its disposal — some 46% of high schools play rugby — it should have a much fuller trophy cabinet than it does.
A fresh approach from new owners with cutting-edge management, financial and negotiating skills could make a world of difference. It would be critical, though, to get the right balance between running rugby as a business and, at the same time, keeping its soul.
The ownership model would need to be thought through and international examples explored.
But I’ve no doubt a model could be found that combined rugby excellence with the more elusive but equally important goal of nation building.
But on a more serious note I don't think Newlands is in that bad shape so maybe Liz is over-emphasizing or exaggerating that point. Then again Western Province should be careful of pissing off that gogo because she may well pick on that point, blow it up and force them to move to her stadium. She doesn't take rejection very well you know. Thinking back everyone expected her to be the biggest resistance to stadium expenditure but she meekly committed the city's funds to that project, so I'm pretty sure she won't want a huge part of her legacy - now that they are slowly pushing her out (dog eat dog) - to involve a white elephant whose losses far outstrip #1's own shortcomings in Rand value.
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