Vandals rip out stadium toilet pipes

This time changing rooms targeted

JAN Smuts Athletics Stadium experienced yet another bout of vandalism last Saturday. Over the last three years, the stadium has been broken into several times and had its property broken, stolen or damaged.

In the latest incident, which happened in the changing rooms, toilet cisterns were ripped off the walls, and the geyser and piping stolen.

Electrical wiring around the premises has been stripped off on many occasions, leaving many parts of the stadium in the dark.

Last year the stadium faced being disqualified from hosting a Premier Soccer League match due to its appalling condition.

The Dispatch team visited the stadium, where workers showed us the damage that had been done to the premises over the years.

They said anything that was copper or electrical was ripped out, and that people broke the walls around the stadium to gain entry.

They said the absence of security guards on the premises was the biggest problem facing the stadium.

There was no one tending to the stadium on weekdays after hours and on weekends.

A worker, who asked to remain anonymous, said he had been employed at the stadium for more than a decade and had watched vandalism getting worse, with little being done to curb it.

“Things are getting out of hand. We try to fix what we can, but it always gets vandalised again. Even homeless people live here now.

“We don’t feel safe anymore because robbers and vagrants roam around freely, even during the day,” he said.

The workers told the Dispatch how some evening games have had to be cancelled as there were no lights in the stadium grounds to provide light at night.

The Dispatch was also taken to a block of toilets and change rooms which workers said they were scared to go into because homeless people had broken into the building and were now living inside.

Wayne Weyer, logistics coordinator for the Cancer relay for life committee, said the foundation held its yearly events at the stadium and he was saddened by its current condition.

“This venue is most ideal for our events, but these issues now pose a problem for us.

“Thousands of people attend these events, and if we can’t be safe, then it’s a problem.

“We pay large amounts of money to use these premises, and the condition it is in is disappointing.”

Safa Buffalo City vice-president Abel Iglesias said urgent attention was needed for the stadium’s poor condition.

“As the main stadium hosting matches in our metro, the condition it is in is terrible.

“BCM has never heeded the call for security and lights, and this has had a direct impact on the matches we can have.

“We’ve got the Easter tournament coming up in April and we normally use the facility, but in its current state, we cannot use it.

“We’ve always found a way to manage, but it would be great if BCM could get this in order.”

BCM spokesperson Sibusiso Cindi had not responded to questions at the time of writing. — nonsindisoq@