Knocking down Newlands

The first ever Four-Nations rugby test match between South Africa and Argentina will be played at Green Point Stadium in Cape Town while the next against the All Blacks will be at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.

There are deliberate errors in the introduction to this column, but it may well be the kind of intro written for an article in 2011.

The playing of Fifa’s World Cup in South Africa in 2010 will almost certainly have a profound effect on rugby’s landscape as well.

Now that gloomy pessimism about the possibility of the stadiums being built in time for soccer’s big event has given way to grudging optimism one can start to see some unavoidable implications for rugby.

The most serious of these is going to be what to do about Newlands?

South Africa’s oldest rugby stadium (and currently also the oldest currently in use in the world with Lansdowne Road out of commission) has always been known as the home of Springbok rugby.

The first international match played at the stadium in Boundary Road was against the British Isles in 1891 and emotional ties to the old ground go to the very core of the game.

There is just so much history. A stand is named after Danie Craven, another after Jan Pickard. It has been the home of Western Province rugby for more than a century and also, for many years, of SA Rugby before new premises for the mother body were found in the adjoining SA Institute of Sport – built on what used to be Newlands “B”.

However, history has tended to outweigh present reality when it has come to Newlands. Not only is the stadium situated in one of the rainiest spots in the country but the structure itself is no longer up to international standards. It’s capacity is too low, it’s seating and sightlines wanting while Press, television, catering and function facilities leave much to be desired.

And now Cape Town is to get a brand new, state-of-the-art stadium in Green Point. A stadium that will not only incorporate the latest ideas in accommodating big crowds but which will have a minimum of 20 000 more seats than Newlands.

Don’t get me wrong. I am a traditionalist and I love everything that Newlands stands for, but the reality is that some tough decisions lie ahead for the Western Province Rugby Union – especially given the immense value of the property occupied by the Newlands stadium.

A similar situation confronts the KwaZulu-Natal Rugby Union as the new Moses Mabhida Stadium (named after a former general secretary of the SA Communist Party) arises across the road.

It too will contain cutting edge technology and have a greater capacity than the revamped, vertigo-inducing Absa Stadium.

One can see the old King’s Park remodeled into a complex containing a hotel, a shopping mall, extensive parking and even more entertainment facilities to enhance the finest after-match party anywhere but it is not going to be as simple as the stroke of a pen.

There are enormous implications for the rugby unions – accustomed as they are to owning and being in control of of their own facilities. There will be issues of suite holders, debenture holders and season ticket holders to sort out not to mention intractable city councils.

In fact, from what I’m hearing, the latter point is most pertinent and there is going to have to be a good deal of compromise – especially as the councils have an appalling record of managing (anything) while the rugby unions have a track record of successfully organising big events and managing stadiums.

It is also an undeniable fact that the sport with the greatest capacity to fill stadiums at economically viable ticket prices is rugby.

While Cape Town and Durban will have the most difficult decisions to make Port Elizabeth and the EP Rugby Union will also be looking at a new home for rugby.

There, however, the decision will be easier to make as Boet Erasmus is not only completely dilapidated but the field runs east-west rather than north-south as it should (to make the setting sun less of a problem).

Football’s World Cup will also benefit the like of Pretoria and Bloemfontein where traditional rugby venues will house the soccer but remain in the hands of rugby administrators.

Johannesburg (where Ellis Park is undergoing an overdue and much-needed refurbishment) provides an interesting scenario – especially for big rugby tests against the super powers because of the greater capacity of Soweto’s Soccer City – and also because of the white elephant called the Johannesburg Stadium.

There is no argument that the smaller athletics stadium should never have been built and that it can’t sustain itself. The football World Cup may well represent the opportunity for all concerned to grasp the nettle, knock it down, build a large parking, exhibition, conference and entertainment facility in it’s place, and go about properly securing the Ellis Park precinct as a multi-purpose location.

The arguments I have put forward will doubtless be denigrated as being too simplistic but the issues will not go away. Rugby has always provided facilities for soccer but come 2010 the ball will be a different shape and there will be some difficult decisions for rugby people to make – the hardest being whether test match rugby will cease at Newlands.