31 July 2007

The Cape Town city council has approved final building plans for the Green Point stadium, a venue for 2010 Fifa World Cup matches, after initial plans were revised to reduce the overall building size and height to meet the available budget.

In addition, the new plans take into consideration the rezoning of land in Green Point, and the obtaining of environmental authorisation from the relevant department.

The city council said in a statement today that plans for the multi-purpose stadium was approved at a special council meeting and that it was a "major milestone" in the project.

While the size and height of the building have been changed to keep construction within the R2.85-billion budget, the stadium will still have a seating capacity of 68 000.

"Until now, the foundations of the stadium have been under construction on the basis of two provisional building plan authorisations," said Cape Town Mayor Helen Zille.

"The city followed this route to make sure it remained legally compliant as the construction progressed."

Zille said that building above ground level could now commence, adding that three final tenders for a long-term operator for the stadium were also being assessed.

"The operator will have to run the stadium in a sustainable way," she noted, adding that the chose operator "will also be expected to produce income for the maintenance of the sport, recreation, park and walkway precinct proposed for the reconfigured Green Point Common".

Zille told the city council the stadium project had extremely tight deadlines for the upcoming World Cup, and that the city could not afford any further delays in construction.

"We are also confident that Cape Town will be able to make the most of the 2010 matches and events, following the recent 90 minutes for Mandela match played between an African and World eleven at Newlands," she said.

Zille said the match showed that Cape Town soccer lovers could fill a stadium and create exactly the kind of atmosphere and excitement that South Africa wants the world to see in 2010.

Source: BuaNews

	Cape Town's Green Point Stadium is to be specially built for 2010, with a retractable roof and a capacity of 68 000. It will host six first-round matches, one second-round, one quarter-final and one semifinal match (Image: South Africa 2010 Local Organising Committee)

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