Clayton Barnes
8 January 2009
Three major events are expected to be held at the Green Point Stadium early next year as a test ahead of the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
Pieter Cronje, the city's 2010 spokesperson, said it was one of the host city's guarantees to the Local Organising Committee (LOC) to host three major events at the World Cup stadium before the tournament.
He said although construction work on the Green Point Stadium started later than at any of the other World Cup venues in the country, the Cape Town stadium was the "front-runner" compared to the five other tournament venues.
"Everything is on track and we can confirm that the completed stadium will be handed over to the city on December 14 this year," said Cronje.
"December is a very important month for the city as Cape Town takes centre stage, globally, for the Fifa World Cup final draw at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
"There is a sense of urgency to get everything or most projects completed before then, but we are confident that the stadium, our transport networks and the final safety and security strategy will be completed for the World Cup."
Cronje said the city planned to hold three major events at the stadium early next year to test the systems and to trial-run their safety strategies.
Details of the nature of the events have still to be decided.
The Green Point Stadium construction site shut down two weeks ago and work is expected to resume "in earnest" next week.
Murray & Roberts project manager Andrew Fanton said his construction team was "ready to deliver" and confirmed that the stadium would be handed over to the city on December 14.
"We are confident of meeting our set targets this year," said Fanton.
"The guys are ready to start working hard from the first day back on site next week."
Fanton said the site had been secured over the festive season and no incidents had been reported.
"There is a team of highly trained security personnel and they kept the construction site safe and secure," he said.
Fanton added that all the critical parts of the 68 000-seater World Cup stadium had been completed last year and that 2009 would see contractors concentrating on the "finishing touches".
The stadium's initial completion date was to have been March 2010.
However, earlier this year Fanton and his team gave the city the assurance that the stadium would be completed four months ahead of schedule.
After the 2010 Fifa World Cup, the city will lease the stadium to operators Stade de France and the Sail Group, as a commercial venture, for an estimated 30 years.
The operating lease includes managing the urban park and common surrounding the stadium.
The top tier of seats inside the stadium will be removed, leaving 55 000 seats after the World Cup.
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