Folks, it can be that big time Rugby may no longer be played at Newlands
Ruggaworld
A report in the media on Thursday highlighted new safety regulations that have been enforced by the International Rugby Board (IRB) for all stadiums looking to host international rugby games. According to the new regulations, a stadium may only host international fixtures if it qualified for a safety and grading certificate which will only be issued if all the criteria are met.
Some of the criteria included fire safety systems, detailed evacuation processes and plans in cases of emergency and strict security measures including the instillation of CCTV cameras.
SARU’s game operations manager, Steven Roos, said the cost of implementing the minimum safety and security requirements would simply be too high.
This is particularly bad news for two of South Africa’s famous stadiums, Mr. Price Kings Park in Durban and Newlands Rugby Stadium in Cape Town. While stadiums like Loftus (Pretoria), Ellis Park/Coca Cola Park (Johannesburg) and the Free State Stadium (Bloemfontein) all underwent extensive renovations and upgrades to comply with FIFA’s strict regulations when South Africa hosted the Soccer World Cup in 2010, the two coastal stadiums were untouched as it was decided to rather build two brand new stadiums namely the Moses Mabida Stadium in Durban, and Cape Town Stadium in Cape Town.
It has been well documented in both cases how the cities of Durban and Cape Town wanted the two rugby unions to move to the new modern stadiums but in both cases this has been met by stern resistance from the respective rugby unions, citing among other things the financial viability of such a move (WP Rugby owns Newlands Rugby Stadium).
While the mood in Durban seems to have settled on this issue, the battle between the City of Cape Town and WP Rugby Union only intensified reaching a climax in the recent Saracens debacle where a European Cup match was cancelled because the two parties could not come to terms on where the match would be hosted.
What complicates matters for the WP Rugby Union, who is largely viewed as the best supported union when it comes to crowd attendance, is that they last hosted a tier 1 nation (France) in a test in 2010 (during the Soccer World Cup) and before that 2009 when they hosted Australia. This year the Cape Town faithful can only expect Tri-Nations newcomers (now The Championship Trophy), Argentina.
Some of the biggest criticisms of Newlands Rugby Stadium is its poor location which makes access to it a nightmare, as-well as the deteriorating infrastructure at the stadium (concession stands and bathrooms) with its narrow and crowded access points and corridors which can easily take you up to 15 minutes to locate your seat (let alone evacuating thousands in minutes).
While SARU have submitted their concerns over the new regulations one has the feeling that should these be strictly enforced, it could well spell the end for the iconic stadium.
GBS, are you not proud of me????????????????
So the way forward is to combine the Stormers and the Kings.
Stadium, sorted. Politicians, sorted. Lets play rugby.
Or let the Kings play and merge the WP and Sharks. They can play out of Moses Mabida seeing that the WP think that the Cape Town Stadium is kak.
1 @ Loosehead:
Very proud of you, you thick, English, Cheetahs supporting, prop!
You and the pictures are now….. ONE!
2 @ Loosehead:
The Southern Storming Kings (or Queens)… sounds like a good name indeed!
Nothing new in this news.
I was told this BEFORE the B&I Lions tour by a Cape Town tour operator.
He (the tour operator) was also of the opinion that Newlands’ days are numbered NO MATTER WHAT.
The stadium is just too old to do enough to bring it up to international standard.
He likewise gives the Coke Tin and Loftus only a limited (< 15 20 years) lifespan.
I can understand WP Rugby wanting to hold on to it's asset, but at the end of the day, Cape Town Stadium would be a better long term option to host international matches.
The only reason Coca-Cola Park is still acceptable is because of the + ZAR 1 Billion spent on the stadium and surrounding area for FIFA 2010. Newlands didn't have that advantage.
4@ grootblousmile:
Why don’t you make a sexual departure?
What on earth are we going to argue about once WP [what a kak name for a prop?] Nel leaves the Cheetahs?
At least we will have something to talk about when WP [what a kak name for a prop] demolishes Deyan again in the real games.
Very sad indeed, but if it was moved to CApe Town Stadium, I wouldn’t miss the parking problems – it is such a nightmare now
7 @ Loosehead:
Tried to make a sexual departure, went to the house, but my wife gave me a flat ignore… farking flat as a plank.
… and this after I just re-hung the pantry door so that it opens and closes properly now, and after I re-hung the double barn-style door leading from the kitchen, to also close properly now…
…. and on top of it all, I did it out of my own volution, without being asked or nagged.. I just did it!
Tonight I’ll kap her with a flat ignore too….
Anyway, Dean (Die Jan) Greyling will just demolish WP (kak names) Nel and the other Cheetahs telletubbies again this year…. and go score another few “hardloop oor die fokkers” tries, to give WP (kak names) Nel a fond farewell!
Personally I think WP (kak names) Nel planned to move to Edinburgh on purpose, to get away from Dean (Die Jan) Greyling, because he just cannot take the shame anymore of being bossed by Dean (Die Jan) Greyling.
@ grootblousmile:
9
@ Loskoppie,
Aijaiiijaaai go easy on GBS, jy kan mos sien die man is baie gefrustreerd lol. Rubber Blou (of Pienk) ballas is kak snaaks, maar die real Mc Coy, is minder snaaks (methinks)
Anyway, ek dink selfs ons Black “Terror” Nyakane gaan vir Deyan druk laat hy knor, en WP gaan in elke geval net vir Deyan bietjie sagmaak (soos ‘n tenderised steak) sodat Coenie “Shrek” Oosthuizen, hom kan oprol, vir Chilli Wors Roll
Bwaaaaahahaaa..
Noote to GBS, sent a mail; to Ronel, at the Cheetahs regarding the matchday tickets idea.
Nee wat al hierdie Vrystaat teletubbies wat nie kan skrum nie dan as ons weer sien speel hul oorsee. Het nie eiers om hul plek oop te speel in die bokspan nie.
Het nog altyd vir Coenie hoog aangeskryf maar WP word ook meer agtertoe gedruk as vorentoe. G’n wonder sy naam is WP nie.
Die rede waarom Dean opgestaan het verlede Saterdag is omdat as jy eers regdeur iemand anders geskrum het en jy kom aan die anderkant uit – dit is nou die onderkant – dan moet jy mos opstaan ? 😉
Op ‘n ligter trant, vind hierdie grap op bloubulblog, deur ‘baberbok’:
Allister Coetzee asked Frans Ludeke after the 2010 final—”Frans, I thought I had the journey planned, how did you beat me?”
“Pretty simple,” replied Ludeke, “I picked my players for their intelligence and asked them just one question.”
“That simple?” said Coetzee. “Yep,”replied Ludeke, “pick one of my squad and see how he does.”
Coetzee thought for a while then nominated Bakkies Botha. Ludeke called him over and asked him, “Who is the child of your father and of your mother who is not your brother and is not your sister?” “Ag maklik man” says Bakkies, “Dis ek!!!.”
“Mooi so Bakkies,” said Ludeke, and Allister was very impressed. He returned to the hotel and wondered about the intelligence of his team. He called in Schalk Burger and asked him, “Who is the child of your father and of your mother who is not your brother and is not your sister?”
Schalk thought and thought and couldn’t come up with the answer. “Can I think about it a bit more, Coach?—I’ll give you an answer tomorrow.”
“Of course,” said Allister, “you’ve got 24 hours. But it is very important that you come up with the answer.”
Schalk went away, thinking as hard as he could, and then he called in his team-mates. Andries Bekker thought it might be his grandpa but wasn’t sure. Jean de Villiers was certain that it couldn’t be anyone. Brian Habana refused to answer in case he was sacked for not knowing.
Francois Louw thought it would be an uncle in Pofadder who had been adopted as a child. Peter Grant went into the foetal position. The rest of the team wouldn’t even hazard a guess. Twenty hours later, Schalk was very worried that he still had no answer with only four hours to go. Eventually Burger thought, “I know, I’ll ring Naas Botha—he’s bloody smart, he’ll know the answer.”
He phoned Botha. “Naas, tell me—who is the child of your father and of your mother who is not your brother and is not your sister?”
“Very simple,” said Naas, “It’s me.”
“Of course,” said Schalk and rang Coetzee. “Coach, I’ve got the answer—it’s Naas Botha!”
“No, you idiot,” said Coetzee, “It’s Bakkies Botha!!!.”
11 @ Cheetah4eva:
Is self ook op Ronel se Mailing Lists… en het al paar keer in die verlede met die girl op die foon gesels.
Ek wil net NOG meer idees hê hier, voor ek formeel aansoek doen….
Note to self, Super Rugby is only 1 week away today, I better hurry up with this idea…
All the Bulls and Cheetahs props will be scrummed stukkend by Pat and CJ!!!
My one and only experience of Newlands when SA played the French there a few years ago. If I did not know I was in Cape Town, I would have thought I was somewhere neutral, the atmosphere was so bad. The Coke Tin has a much better atmosphere
@ Lion4ever:
My ONLY experience of Newlands was the CC final in 1986 where the Mountain Goats came from behind to win after Uli had scored in the corner.
Vark, myself and my mate felt like we were the only TVL supporters there.
Was in CT for the SA Army Driver Of the Year competition.
What a week. I can honestly say that we drank the Trans Karoo train dry before we got to De Aar on the way back to KBY.
I give up, tried posting this a new blog, but can’t upload it. I have really been struggling with this site over the last few days. Anyway, here is a longwinded reply from Patrick Ronan on the stadiums situation. – Anyone who reads the full article is a better man than I!!!
iafrica.com
Suggestions that the days of iconic stadiums like Newlands and Kings Park are numbered are purely ‘rumour mongering’.
Reports in the media on Thursday suggested a new set of sport safety regulations could be the financial ruin of some of South Africa’s most famous sporting venues.
According to these reports some of the requirements in the new safety regulations act would be almost impossible to meet. It was also claimed the regulations were signed into law last year, which is totally inaccurate.
It was felt that the regulations could be particularly bad for Kings Park and Newlands, who missed out on upgrades during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Loftus Versfeld, Ellis Park and the Free State Stadium all underwent extensive renovations during the soccer showpiece, while Kings Park and Newlands were overlooked in favour of the new Moses Mabhida and Cape Town Stadium.
The reports also added fuel to the ongoing debate regarding a potential move away from the two traditional rugby homes in Cape Town and Durban to the new FIFA stadia. The fight between City of Cape Town and WP Rugby Union (WPRU) flared up again when the Saracens proposal for a European Cup match at Cape Town Stadium was met head on by WPRU officials and eventually played in London.
Patrick Ronan, a specialist advisor to national department of Sport and Recreation and the man who headed up the team that drafted this legislation, said there is a “general misunderstanding” of the process and the act.
Ronan, speaking to Rugby365, said there were a number of inaccuracies in reports about the Safety at Sport and Recreational Events Act.
The basic facts are that the regulation still has to be gazetted, there is also a phasing in period and there are different levels of measures of infrastructural requirements that are required for different risk structures of events.
“I think there is a general misunderstanding in regards to the practical import of the act and the impending regulations – the infrastructural regulations that are flowing from that act,” he told the website, when questioned about the Safety at Sports and Recreational Events Act, 2010.
“Firstly, there is nothing in the principle legislation, as it currently stands, which came into effect on 2 August, 2010, that in any way impact on any of the major stadiums,” Ronan said.
“What will impact on them, to varying degrees, is the infrastructural regulations that have yet to be gazetted, that have only been out in draft format.
“Those are the regulations that were issued for comment by the minister of sport [Fikile Mbalula].”
Ronan was adamant that there was, to some degree, an overreaction to the draft regulation and did not rule out the chance of changes still being made to the act.
“If I must comment on those draft regulations, as they now stand, I can tell you that there has been a significant misunderstanding on the part of many people, as to how it will impact on existing stadiums,” he said, adding: “The act makes provision for a phasing in period in regards to any infrastructural requirements that are still to be gazetted.”
The phasing in periods are as follows:
1. In respect of a stadium that wishes to host a low-risk event in future, they will have five years to comply
2. For a stadium that wishes to host a medium-risk event in future, they will have three years to comply
3. A stadium that wishes to host a high-risk event, they will have two years to comply
That date will also run from the period of promulgation of the regulation, which means none of the stadiums are currently in danger of having any matches cancelled.
Asked in what category – low risk, medium risk or high risk – a Test match would fall and where a Super Rugby match or Currie Cup match would be rated, Ronan said it would differ from event to event.
“It would depend on the nature of the event … there are a whole lot of factors – up to 21 factors that are set out in the act,” he said, adding that the police would do that grading.
“To give and example, the PSL [Premier Soccer League of South Africa] – in regards to all their league matches this year – the police have seen fit not to rate any of their matches higher than medium risk.
“If you are going to ask me my professional opinion as to the Argentinian Test at Newlands [a Tri-Nations match on August 18] it would not be higher than a medium risk.
“The important fact to remember, is that high risk events are few and far between.
“The infrastructural draft regulations that some of the older stadiums seem to be concerned about relate to high risk events only. In other words, your normal Currie Cup games, Super Rugby games, etc would not be in my view considered high risk events and it wouldn’t impact on those venues.
“Certainly the hosting of high risk events, if they were wanting to host such event in two or three years’ time, when the phasing in period has come to an end, then there might be a challenge.
“What I have been hearing is that people are saying no events can be hosted at those stadiums, because they don’t meet the infrastructural regulations, which is not correct.
“What will have to be done is that firstly and audit has to be undertaken, when the regulations are published, which they haven’t yet, to determine where do they fall short, if at all.
“The suggestion that Newlands or Kingspark can no longer host matches are not true.
“The one regulation that a lot of people are talking about, the angle of rake on a grandstand [how steep the slope of the stand is] would only relate to a stadium that wishes to host high risk events. Those events are few and far between.
“If you take the example of the PSL, that not one league match has been rated higher than medium risk – the same would apply to rugby, there are a number of factors to be taken into account.
“If, for example, you had a Kaizer Chiefs versus Orlando Pirates match and that match is going to determine who will win the league, and very single seat has been sold and the media have whipped up the match into a frenzy, then yes, in those circumstances that might elevate from a medium risk to a high risk event.
“Then we would have to look at those regulations, in two years’ time, because there is the phasing in period, as to whether that stadium would meet those requirements.”
Not targetting rugby
Ronan also pointed out that this is not a regulation that is targeting specific sports, or as some would suggest – government is having a go at rugby.
“The important thing is, we mustn’t forget where this legislation comes from,” Ronan said, adding: “It comes from the Ellis Park disaster, when 43 of our citizens died unnecessarily on 21 April 2001,” he said.
The Ellis Park Stadium disaster was the worst sporting accident in South African history, when on 11 April, 2001, spectators poured into the Stadium in the city of Johannesburg for the local derby association football match between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates. There was already a 60 000 capacity crowd in the stadium, but reports suggest thousands of fans were still trying to gain entry to the stadium.
As the crowd pressed forward, 43 people were crushed to death. Apparently untrained security guards firing tear gas at the stampeding fans exacerbated the situation, and may have been the cause of some of the deaths. The South African Police Department denies these claims. The final inquiry into the incident concluded that a major cause was bribed security personnel admitting fans without tickets into the stadium and poor crowd control.
The second worst sporting accident in South African history was the Oppenheimer Stadium disaster, which mirrored this one as it involved the same two teams. Forty-two people died in 1991 in a stampede after too many fans were admitted to Oppenheimer Stadium in Orkney, a provincial town some 200 kilometres from Johannesburg.
“The whole focus of this legislation is to improve the safety and security of the general public that attend these events … that is really what it is all about,” Ronan said.
“It is not designed, as some people suggest, to put them out of business … that is rubbish.
“These infrastructural regulations were not sucked out of thin air, they are based on international research, and in particular, the UK Government’s Guide to safety at sports grounds.
“They are using it for all their football [soccer] stadiums in England – 20 years of research that has gone into these standards that are being upheld by the UK government … aimed at promoting safety at sports grounds.”
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