The Public Works Department has signed a 99-year lease agreement with the City of Johannesburg for the Soccer City stadium, near Soweto.

The agreement is the culmination of a series of discussions between the Department of Public Works, the Department of Sport and Recreation, the City of Johannesburg and the National Treasury.

“I am honoured to be signing this agreement on behalf of government,” said Public Works Minister Geoff Doidge. Sport and Recreation Minister Makhenkesi Stofile recalled at the signing ceremony that, in 1987, the apartheid government sold three pieces of land (on which the stadium is built) to the then Trust for Building Stadiums.

“The three pieces of land were sold for just over R5-million. That money was never paid and there was no compliance with the terms of that sale. As a result, that sale was nullified. Hence, the signing of this agreement is the culmination of a long period of negotiations between government and other stakeholders, noted Stofile. He added that government’s involvement in the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a perfect opportunity to invest in local infrastructure.

“It is imperative that this land, on which the stadium is built, belongs to the people of South Africa. Our intended purposes for this land must live beyond our own life span.”

City of Johannesburg executive mayor Amos Masondo said that the signing of the lease agreement was a “significant development.”

“The signing of this long-term lease will ensure the sustainability of the stadium. It will now truly become a venue of choice for the hosting of both national and international events. The Soccer City project is viewed by government as part of a bigger programme that seeks to restore the dignity of our people,” said Masondo. The 2010 FIFA World Cup Local Organising Committee’s CEO, Danny Jordaan, pointed out that one of the outcomes of the World Cup was to leave a legacy of stadiums and provide an opportunity to own world-class soccer stadiums.

“The initiative of building Soccer City was designed for us to have a cathedral in the name of football and indeed there are many memo- ries attached to this stadium. Soccer City stadium has become an arena not just for soccer, but for other activities. Hence, we are all looking forward to the opening game of the 2010 soccer World Cup which will give us an opportunity to celebrate the work we started in 1987,” said Jordaan.

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