FEA TURE — MOSES M ABHID A
ST ADIU M
Space is available at Moses Mabhida stadium to install the required athletics track should Durban ever choose to bid for (and win) the hosting rights to a Summer Olympics.
Ellingson was head of the
2010 programme prior to the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ and is cur- rently head of the Strategic Projects Unit, with Moses Mabhida stadium under
her remit. Business as Usual
In 2011, government spokesman Jimmy Manyi announced that South Africa is not intending to bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics, shattering the dreams of those who were hoping Durban would soon host anoth- er major international sports event. While many still hope the government will reconsider its stance, for the stadium it remains business as usual. “The stadium complies with the requirements set by
the IOC for venues that are to be used for the Summer Olympics but it is not a prerogative for the venue to operate,” said Ellingson. The seating capacity at Moses Mabhida has been
temporarily reduced and space for a possible athletic track is still used as part of the field. But, when necessary, everything can be put in place quickly to host the Games. “The ablution facilities and lifts for another tier are
still there. It is just a matter of reinstalling the seats,” advised Ellingson in relation to the stadium’s readiness to host a Summer Olympics. The city took a careful approach for the appointment of a stadium management company. Many qualified companies indicated being keen to take over the respon- sibility but Ellingson says the city first wanted to know what exactly it had to offer or could achieve.
20 th AN N I V ER S AR Y P AR T II/ S U M M ER 1 2 Ellingson explained: “We felt that we didn’t have the
knowledge and experience to make an informed deci- sion when the issue was put to the table before the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. We spoke to managers of many stadi- ums around the world and had many consultants on board before the World Cup, but we weren’t too sure whether we should run the stadium ourselves or to establish a department within the city to do so, or to lease it to an outside company. We learned, for instance, about the problems Wembley Stadium experienced by outsourcing its catering operation. This made us decide to install our own kitchen to avoid similar problems. But you will need an operator prepared to accept this. So making the call of who would be responsible for operat- ing the stadium would have been premature, as we didn’t have a clear understanding of the revenue that could be generated or the cost that it would take to keep the venue running.”
Return on Investment Durban wants to ensure it gets value for money and makes a return on its investment in the stadium. “We decided to first establish a record, so we could
get proof ourselves. We want to make sure that we can make a reasonable deal,” said Ellingson, while referring to Cape Town stadium, where a joint-venture between Sail and Stade de France was disbanded back in late 2010 after it came to the conclusion that it would not be able to operate the venue profitably. “The problem is that if the deal goes flat and the operating company goes bankrupt the stadium will be returned to city. Dur- ban does not want to end up paying for the stadium twice. Moses Mabhida stadium is like a baby to the city,
P AN S T AD I A 27
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