The testing of the ring of fire . . .

On Wednesday evening, the lights on the newly renamed Cape Town Stadium were tested. These lights, forming the ring of fire create an extraordinary view. The pictures below should give one an idea.


Pictures taken by Bruce Sutherland, City of Cape Town.

Mbombela Stadium officially complete.

The Mbombela Stadium built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup has officially been completed. It was handed over to the Mbombela local municipality a few days ago. Now all that's left is for the surrounding roads and landscaping to be completed.

All courtesy Tadpolefarm, Skyscrapercity

The Mbombela Stadium

Up country, in South Africa's Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces we find what can probably be described as 'typical' South Africa. When foreigners envisage SA, what do they think of? More than likely, they think of wide open bushveld expanses. They think of savanna and the big 5. There are 2 stadia in this setting, The Peter Mokaba Complex and The Mbombela Stadium. It is therefore fitting that both of these masterpieces have strong African design concepts.

I focused on the Peter Mokaba Complex in my previous post. Today, I focus on the next 'African' stadium, the Mbombela Stadium of Nelspruit. This stadium, I must confess, is one of my personal favourites. It is a perfect rugby and football venue. It has all the luxuries of any state of the art stadium including: Multiple suites and press boxes, changing rooms, 2 big screens, 44 000 seats etc. What amazes about this build is the ability of the architects and engineers to entwine African design features with a beautiful, modern, fully functional, world class venue. For example: The stunning giraffe figures may, to the layman, seem like an ornamental tie-in to the nearby Kruger National Park. Yet this giraffe structure is imperative to the stadium. The neck holds in place the cantilever roof, the back holds up the second tier, while the front and back legs add support for the roof and second tier. A merger between functionality and African architecture that takes the breath away.

Other African tie-ins are: Zebra stripe patterned seats and multi-coloured walls, many with Ndebele design patterns. All this culminates in a great, intimate venue, in which spectators are close to the action and can feast on the great footballers about to grace our shores.

All pictures courtesy, Levi Guimaraes, Flickr.

The Peter Mokaba Complex

The new asset to the Polokwane area is being well-received. Despite fears of the future use of this sports stadium, the Peter Mokaba Complex, when complete, will be the only world class facility with a capacity of 40 000 or more in the Limpopo Province. This province, with the highest number of registered football players in South Africa, has been yearning for a Newlands, Absa Stadium, Elllis Parkesque facility, and finally they are receiving. The burgeoning Polokwane municipal precinct, one of the fastest growing municipalities in South Africa is finally being recognised.

The stadium itself is simple, yet effective. It has an ingeniously designed roof over the main stand, with supports resembling a baobab. Facilities are of the highest order with all bases from executive suites to players changing rooms, to press facilities, to toilets covered. The bowl has been impeccably designed for the watching of soccer and rugby. Slightly concave stands, reminiscent of our own Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, will ensure all attention is directed squarely to the field of play. A comfortable, world-class facility will welcome Polokwane residents with open arms, come completion date towards the end of this month.

All images courtesy Ranma Saotome, SkyscraperCity

Exciting times

Almost all SA 2010 stadiums are due to be completed this month. The exception being Green Point Stadium, due for completion on December 14. Mbombela will be complete within a couple of weeks, Peter Mokaba should definitely be finished this month. At Moses Mabhida, seats are in place, roof is in place, pitch has been laid, literally leaving the finishing touches before the stadium's official inauguration. Obviously PE's Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium was completed in June. Green Point Stadium is currently undergoing facade, pitch and seating installation concurrently, preparing the beauty for the world spotlight. Soccer City is practically finished - seats in, pitch laid, facade complete. What's left is just the surrounding landscaping. Here are some gems of our nearly completed semi-final venues.

The interior of the Moses Mabhida Stadium. Courtesy ethekwini girl, flickr.

Exterior Moses Mabhida shots courtesy of Leftfoot, SkyscraperCity.

Green Point facade going in place - Mo Rush

And finally, perhaps forgotten, a link to webcam shots of our 6 new stadia as they currently stand . . . http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=634069