Cape Town Stadium

Naming

|Cape Town During construction, Cape Town Stadium was unofficially known as Green Point Stadium; the name of an older stadium, then-situated adjacent to it, that was partially demolished and rebuilt into the Green Point Athletics Stadium.

During October 2009, the city asked for the public to propose names for the new stadium and the name Cape Town Stadium was chosen.

With effect from June 2021, the City of Cape Town as owner of the stadium, through a municipal entity,concluded a multi-year sponsorship agreement with DHL for ( Originally) period of four years, from 2021 to 2025.{{cite web | access-date = 2024-03-06}} It included renaming the stadium to the DHL Stadium which as of 2025 has since been renewed.{{cite web | access-date = 2024-03-06}}

In this regard, Peter-John Veldhuizen, chairperson of the Board of the Cape Town Stadium (RF) Soc Ltd said: "DHL’s contribution as our naming rights partner has certainly made a significant impact on the bottom line of the business". As a result, in 2022–2022 the revenue target was exceeded by 30% and the grant funding from the City of Cape Town was reduced from R61m to R42m.

Previous stadium

The stadium is adjacent to the site of the original 18,000 seater stadium Green Point Stadium. It replaces a portion of the Metropolitan Golf Club site which has now been realigned.

The previous stadium, originally constructed in 1897 and which was partly demolished in 2007 and rebuilt in 2013 as the Green Point Athletics Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium used for cycling, athletics, cricket and soccer. Later used mainly for soccer matches, it was the home ground of Santos Football Club and Ajax Cape Town at different points. It also hosted music concerts, including the November 2003 46664 Concert for the benefit of AIDS victims.{{cite web | access-date = 2016-04-04 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160418232902/http://www.sabc.co.za/mandela/featuredetails/56b01600474ee6f6b206fa7dca15ccff/group5 | archive-date = 18 April 2016 | url-status = dead | access-date = 2016-04-04

Design

Construction of the Cape Town Stadium, located on the Green Point Common, began in March 2007.

In 33 months, joint venture contractors Murray & Roberts, now known as Concor and WBHO completed the project at a cost of R4.4billion – or approximately US$600million.

The project architects were an association between GMP Architects of Germany and local firms, Louis Karol Architects and the joint venture practice Point Architects comprising Comrie Wilkinson Architects and Urban Designers, Jakupa Architects and Urban Designers, Munnik Visser Architects and Paragon Architects. The lead urban designer for the 18hactare stadium precinct was Henri Comrie.

The structural engineers comprised a joint venture between BKS, Henry Fagan & Partners, KFD Wilkinson, Goba, Iliso and Arcus Gibb.

Handing over

Cape Town Stadium was officially handed over to the City of Cape Town on schedule on 14 December 2009. At a ceremony in front of over 200 invited guests and the media representatives from around the world, Cape Town Executive Mayor Alderman Dan Plato, received the keys to the stadium officially confirming the opening of Cape Town Stadium.

The pedestrian route from the central city to the stadium was designated as the Fanwalk, highlighting local businesses and providing entertainment, while promoting crowd safety.

After the World Cup

A consortium consisting of South Africa's Sail Group and French-based Stade de France were awarded the service contract to operate the stadium and ensure that it remains a sustainable multi-purpose venue after the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The consortium, called Business Venture Investments 1317, was involved in the management of the stadium from January 2009 onwards. The city municipality paid the consortium to manage the stadium up to and during the World Cup, after which the consortium will lease the stadium from the city for a period of not less than 10 years and not more than 30 years.{{Cite web | access-date = 11 April 2011 }}

However, in December 2010 the Sail/Stade de France consortium cancelled the lease. Reports in the media at the time said that the consortium considered the agreement as non-viable. The City subsequently took over management of the stadium.{{Cite web | access-date = 6 March 2024}}

Following the World Cup, temporary rows of seating on either side on the top tier were replaced by events suites and clubrooms, reducing the stadium's capacity to 55,000.{{cite web | access-date = 2016-04-02

The Greenpoint Park was completed within a year of the World Cup ending as was promised to the people of Cape Town during the public consultation process preceding stadium construction. The park has since become one of Cape Town's most popular recreational facilities and has acted as a catalyst for significant improvements to surrounding buildings and spaces through spontaneous private sector investment.

Ajax Cape Town used the stadium as their home ground from the 2010–11 season. Due to the stadium's ongoing financial problems, the City of Cape Town had sought to acquire Western Province rugby as an "anchor tenant". After four years of talks, Western Province announced in December 2014 that they had decided to remain at Newlands Stadium. In March 2015, the South African Rugby Union announced that the South Africa Sevens tournament would be staged at Cape Town Stadium for four years, beginning in December 2015.

In June 2016, it was announced that new Premiership club Cape Town City would also play at Cape Town Stadium.

In late 2020, Western Province RFU announced that they were selling their longtime home of Newlands Stadium to developers, who planned to demolish the ground and convert it to a mixed-use development. From 2021 onwards, franchise rugby team Stormers and Currie Cup side WP have called Cape Town Stadium home, and the stadium has hosted international rugby tests played in Cape Town.

In 2023, after complaints about pitch quality intensified the previous season, the pitch was relaid with a hybrid turf, 50% synthetic and 50% grass.

Cape Town Stadium (RF) SOC Ltd

The Cape Town Stadium (RF) SOC Ltd, a municipal entity of the City of Cape Town, was formed in 2018 to provide various operational services to the stadium.

In 2021 the Entity entered into a sponsorships agreement with DHL, granting naming rights to the company. Since then the stadium has officially been known as the DHL Stadium.

Inaugural games

The first game to be hosted at the new Cape Town Stadium was a Cape Town derby between Ajax Cape Town and Santos on 23 January 2010 as part of the official inauguration of the stadium. Only 20,000 tickets were made available for the event and were sold out by Friday 15 January 2010. The Soccer Festival had entertainment from local band Freshlyground and a Vuvuzela orchestra performance during half time.

The second of three 'dry runs' at the new Cape Town Stadium was another Cape Town derby. Local Cape Town rugby teams, The Vodacom Stormers and the Boland Inv. XV battled it out at the Cape Town Rugby Festival that took place on 6 February 2010. The Rugby Festival had entertainment from local band Flat Stanley. Only 40,000 tickets were made available for the event. This was double the amount that attended the Soccer Festival.

Cape Town Stadium hosted its third test event on Monday 22 March, during which all 55,000 permanent seats were available for the first time. A total of 52,000 tickets were sold.

‘Cape Town For Jesus', a religious gathering addressed by South African evangelist Angus Buchan, was the first major non-sporting event hosted at the stadium, and gave the stadium operators another chance to test their readiness ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Cape Town Stadium hosted its fourth and final test event on Saturday 10 April. This was the first time that the stadium was utilised at night, for the International Under-20 Soccer Challenge between South Africa, Brazil, Nigeria and Ghana. About 40,000 attended the event that tested the stadium's readiness for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Sporting and events

2010 FIFA World Cup

In the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Cape Town Stadium hosted five first round matches, one second round, one quarter-final, and one semi-final. During the World Cup, all FIFA media referred to the stadium as 'Green Point Stadium'.

Matches

International friendlies

On 17 November 2010, the Cape Town Stadium hosted its first international friendly. The match was between South Africa and the USA, where they played for the Nelson Mandela Challenge Trophy.

Rugby union

The stadium hosts numerous rugby matches each year. Prior to 2021, the stadium hosted several Stormers matches when they couldn't play at their previous home ground in Newlands. Western Province Rugby and the Stormers have used the stadium as their home ground for both the domestic Currie Cup and international United Rugby Championship (URC) competitions. During their first season at their new home, the Stormers defeated their South African rivals, the Bulls, to win the URC Final at the stadium. The Stormer's success in the URC qualified the team to compete in the European Rugby Championship during the 2022/23 season with several matches being hosted at the stadium, in addition to those for the Currie Cup and URC. The stadium also played host to the Stormers' URC playoff matches during the 2022/23 season after they won home field advantage, including the URC Final played on 27 May 2023.

The stadium has also hosted international rugby union matches played by South Africa's Springboks. In July 2021 the Springboks defeated the British & Irish Lions in a 3 match series that were hosted at the stadium. No fans were permitted to attend due to COVID-19. In July 2022, the Springboks defeated Wales in what was South African lock Eben Etzebeth's 100th test for the national team. And, in September 2024 The Springboks defeated New Zealand.

World Rugby Sevens Series

See also World Rugby Sevens Series

The World Rugby Sevens Series hosts a tournament each year in Cape Town, traditionally in December. It was played annually from 2015 to 2019. However, no tournaments took place during 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the competition returned to Cape Town during the 2022–23 season.

[[2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens]]

In September 2022, DHL Stadium played host to the Rugby World Cup Sevens. The men's tournament was won by Fiji, who defeated New Zealand in the Final. The women's competition was won by Australia over their cross-Tasmine rivals New Zealand.

Tennis

Main article: Match for Africa

The Cape Town Stadium hosted the sixth edition of Roger Federer's Matches for Africa, a series of charity tennis matches. It took place on 7 February 2020 and featured Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Federer confirmed the date, location, and opponent during the 2019 edition of Wimbledon. Federer said he had pursued Nadal's participation for two years before a date was agreed upon.

South Africa is the birth country of Federer's mother and the focus of his charitable foundation. The doubles match consisted Roger Federer and American tycoon Bill Gates versus Rafael Nadal and South African entertainer Trevor Noah. Federer and Gates won the match 6–4. In singles, Federer beat Nadal with the score 6–4, 3–6, 6–3. The event was attended by 51,954 people (the highest attendance ever recorded at a tennis match) and more than $3.5 million was raised in aid of children's education in Africa.

| team-width=175 | RD1-seed1=1 | RD1-team1=Switzerland Roger Federer USA Bill Gates | RD1-score1-1=6 | RD1-score1-2= | RD1-score1-3= | RD1-seed2=2 | RD1-team2=Spain Rafael Nadal RSA Trevor Noah | RD1-score2-1=3 | RD1-score2-2= | RD1-score2-3=

| team-width=175 | RD1-seed1=1 | RD1-team1=Spain Rafael Nadal | RD1-score1-1=4 | RD1-score1-2=6 | RD1-score1-3=3 | RD1-seed2=2 | RD1-team2=Switzerland Roger Federer | RD1-score2-1=6 | RD1-score2-2=3 | RD1-score2-3=6

Concerts

Popular culture

Cape Town Stadium was featured in the film Safe House (2012). The stadium also features in many local advertising and print media campaigns. It was also featured as a motorsport venue in the video game Dirt 5.

Incidents

On 7 November 2012, shortly before the U.S. rock band Linkin Park was set to perform at the sold-out stadium, gusts of wind caused advertising scaffolding outside the stadium to collapse onto a crowd of people injuring 19 and killing 1; of the 19 injured, 12 were taken to hospital for further treatment.

Calls for demolition

Prior to 2021, several individuals and groups called for the stadium to be demolished due to its under-utilization after the World Cup. Effective utilization and use of the stadium was a political issue in the city. However, beginning in 2021, use of Cape Town Stadium increased significantly when it became the home ground of Western Province Rugby and the DHL Stormers. This move resulted in DHL sponsoring the naming rights to the stadium and significant renovations.

References

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