Stadium

Photo: Reza Inglis (rezainglis@gmail.com)

CAPE TOWN STADIUM CONSTRUCTION COMPLETE

Katja Hamilton

The new Cape Town Stadium was officially launched this week and is ready to host the world’s great football teams that will do battle in next year’s World Cup.

Completed 32 months after the first sod was turned at a cost of R4.5bn, the stadium’s construction was celebrated this week (Monday, December 14) at a special ceremony held for more than 200 invited guests and media.

While contractors symbolically handed “the key of the stadium’s door” to Cape Town’s Executive Mayor, Alderman Dan Plato, champagne flowed and balloons representative of the colours of the South African flag were released from the pitch into a windless sky.

“This is one of the biggest planning and construction processes the City of Cape Town has ever undertaken, and has been worth the wait. Look at the results,” said Plato.

“Cape Town Stadium is set to become one of the world’s sporting landmarks with its outstanding design, state-of-the-art facilities and incomparable setting. With the backdrop of Table Mountain it will be the iconic image of the 2010 World Cup.”

The mayor’s sentiments were echoed by executive director of the City of Cape Town, Mike Marsden who applauded the concept designers GMP Architekten from Germany, Louis Karol and Associates and Point Architects.

He also acknowledged the dedication and hard work of the main building contractors Murray and Roberts and WBHO and the multi-disciplinary professional team.  Their vision and perseverance saw them through some tough times.

Since the project’s inception in 26 March 2007 there was one fatality when a sub-contractor employee landed under a construction vehicle. There were also strikes that brought the construction site to a standstill and the worst Cape winter winds.

Chairman of Ovcon, Mike Wilie said the crew’s low point was when a ship carrying the stadium’s façade from Singapore ran aground. “We had to reprogramme the job and the crew worked overtime to see the project completed exactly on schedule,” he said.

“Now that our job is complete I would like to wish the stadium operator the best of luck. This has been a fantastic privilege for WBHO and Murray and Roberts, and I thank the City of Cape Town for the opportunity,” said Wilie.

The stadium is widely regarded as a triumph in both design and construction. Defined by a sweeping silhouette, the stadium’s façade, covered with a stretched fiberglass mesh, is an articulated surface with a scaleless appearance, designed to reduce the impact of strong winds while allowing for airflow into and out of the stadium.

Its R429m suspended glass roof focuses attention downwards onto the playing field. It has a translucent mesh skin under the steel cable and truss structure, which acts as a luminous disc during days of sunlight and transmits the colour and atmosphere of the day into the stadium interior.

Sized at 36 000m2, the hanging roof rests on 72 columns. Curved, it gives the stadium a flowing look from every perspective, and is weighted down with 3700 tons of steel and 1000 tons of glass.

But the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

Two games have been scheduled at the stadium, the first an Ajax/Santos battle on January 23 and the second a Stormers vs Boland Rugby Champions test on February 6.

A crowd of 20 000 is expected for each game.

“These games will test the mettle of the stadium’s operations and its ability to host 68 000 people at each respective World Cup game,” said Morne du Plessis whose South African sports marketing company SAIL has been appointed the stadium’s operator together with Stade de France.

“We’ve got to ensure that the World Cup will run seamlessly so everything from the stadium’s sound, to its turnstiles, change rooms, lighting and generators will be put to the test to ensure that they work without a glitch,” he said.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Meanwhile, the extensive upgrade of the stadium precinct is going according to plan. The 85ha Green Point Common and Granger Bay Boulevard are scheduled for completion in March next year.

STADIUM PITCH FLOODLIGHTS TO BE SWITCHED ON

Photo: http://greenpointstadium-and-capetown.blogspot.com/

City of Cape Town

Capetonians can expect a spectacular display tonight when all 360 floodlights for the Cape Town Stadium pitch will be switched on simultaneously.

Earlier this week about half of the lights were switched on for the first time, and many were aimed incorrectly in preliminary testing which led to some complaints of excessive brightness and glare. Apart from the pitch lights – known as the “ring of fire” – some of the lights on the outside plaza will also be switched on.

The aiming of the lights is still at an early stage. Finetuning and exact aiming will be done through the use of a light meter on the pitch, but this is likely to happen only later when the seed grass has grown. Grass and sand have different reflective qualities.

People who want to watch tonight’s big switch-on – scheduled for between 7pm and 7:30pm – should bear in mind that the outer façade, which softens the glow, is not yet complete. With the fine tuning of the lights the brightness will be reduced and the stadium should give off a pink glow.

CAPE TOWN STADIUM SET FOR COMPLETION IN THREE MONTHS

An aerial shot of Green Point Stadium taken by City of Cape Town photographer Bruce Sutherland in June this year.

Nick Whiteley

The glass roof of the new Cape Town Stadium will be completed and sealed and the fabric membrane underneath fully installed by 15 October – well on schedule for the handover of the stadium to the City of Cape Town on 14 December this year.

With less than nine months to 2010 World Cup kick-off, and three months to the deadline for completion of the stadium, contractors are busy with the final touches to what many visitors and journalists believe will be one of the finest stadia in the world.

Cape Town will host eight World Cup matches, most of them at night, including one semi-final.

All the concrete work is complete, and the focus is now on commissioning the “inner heart” of the stadium such as cabling, IT infrastructure, electricity connections etc. Closed circuit television cameras, used to monitor crime and crowd behaviour, are still to be installed. The cameras will be linked to the Venue Operations Centre (VOC) which will be staffed by police, disaster management, transport, and other experts on site.

Construction of the steel support columns for the exterior fabric façade of the stadium is 70% complete, and the fabric will be attached as weather permits. The outer “skin” – giving a warm glow to the light emanating from the stadium – is scheduled for completion by the end of November.

Work is also underway on the internal architectural finishes such as painting, ceilings, doors and locks. Most of the inside equipment has been installed on five of the six levels.

All the inside cranes have been dismantled and removed and a monster crane is busy dismantling the large cranes outside the stadium. About 25 per cent of the 68 000 seats have been installed, and the multi-layered foundations are being laid for the pitch. Two pitches have been prepared in Stellenbosch, one of which will be held in reserve. The grass pitch is due to be laid this month.

Two big display screens are still to be erected in the North Eastern and South Western corners of the stadium.

Temporary seating to raise capacity from 55 000 to 68 000 for the World Cup will be installed early in 2010, in good time for “the greatest show on earth” which gets underway on 11 June 2010.

The stadium Visitor Centre – at least in its present form – has closed, and the City is looking to make alternative arrangements for visitors until a new visitor centre is opened by the stadium operators in January 2010.

The raised Green Point traffic circle is almost complete and is already taking traffic on the incoming lane to the city centre.