WP move to CT Stadium imminent

HOW GOOD have Western Province been this Currie Cup season? And while the season is by no means over, their sizzling performances bring some much-needed positivity to the troubled WP Rugby Union.

Speaking on SuperSport’s rugby show Phaka on Tuesday evening, WPRU president Thelo Wakefield said: “Journalists are fond of writing negative stories about Western Province. We have counted, we have over 4 200 negative stories about WP. It is now time for good-news stories.”

But it’s not like somebody just decided to pluck those “negative stories” out of thin air.

Although reports on the selling of Newlands and a possible move to Cape Town Stadium were initially denied, Wakefield insisted Newlands and its properties would not be sold, and admitted a move to Cape Town Stadium was imminent.

“It is a fact that we will move across to Cape Town Stadium.

“The process is such that I have signed a heads of agreement with the City Council; the City has appointed a commission to investigate the matter of rugby coming to Cape Town Stadium,” Wakefield told Phaka.

“A full council meeting will be held at the end of October. At that meeting the City will say it’s either ‘yes’ for Western Province or ‘no’.

If it is ‘yes’, we will move to the Stadium for many reasons.”

“First, we don’t need to maintain Newlands any more; second, it (Cape Town Stadium) is world-class; thirdly it is a very modern stadium, and modern professional rugby players demand that.

“We will develop Newlands into a business entity, we are consulting with various developers at present. It will still be the property of WP Rugby... but we will not sell Newlands.”