The R69-million facelift of the Dobsonville stadium, in Soweto, is ahead of schedule and should be completed before the end of next month.

The synthetic athletics track is com- plete, while new suites, media facilities, change rooms, a gymnasium and lighting have been installed.

The stadium already meets FIFA’s requirements in terms of the number of spectators it can accommodate, safety standards, medical facilities, flood lighting and media needs, and will be used as a training ground for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

“We have a month and a half to go and we are at a stage where we are doing section handover. “The ground floor has been handed over to the client and we are confident that by the end of June, we will be finished with the project,” Dobsonville stadium project manager Thebe Modisakeng told Engineering News at a site visit, last week.

He added that, currently, the project team was busy on the finishing touches for all the things that must be done last, such as carpets, kitchen units and cold rooms and, at the end of the month, would start cleaning the exterior of the stadium.

“The 18-month project is within budget and after the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the stadium might be rented to one of the Premier Soccer League teams and the community in the area can make use of the gym.”

Modisakeng conceded that load-shedding did affect the project in terms of using more diesel and petrol; two generators were bought.

The hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup will leave a legacy of sports and recreation facilities in South Africa, in the form of ten state-of-the-art stadiums and other recreational facilities.

Improving the match venues has been one of the main focuses of the infrastructure development programme.

Providing sports facilities in communities that have not had such facilities before is a key benefit of hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

To subscribe to Engineering News's print magazine email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or buy now.