Soccer jittery on WP rugby stadium move

AJAX Cape Town have stumbled on to reliable information that suggests they are about to lose their grip on the Cape Town Stadium.

The Urban Warriors have been the main tenants at the 2010 World Cup stadium for the past seven years – and are concerned that they are about to be pushed down the pecking order by the Western Province Rugby Union (WPRU).

“We are in the last year of our contract with the stadium and we have been trying to set up a meeting with the management to discuss a renewal‚” Ajax commercial director Alexi Efstathiou said. “But they have not come back to us. “Maybe it is true that the deal between them and WPRU is imminent and that is the reason why they are stalling. We don’t know the real reasons.

“It does not feel good, because a couple of times this season we have had to move out of the stadium to find an alternative venue,” Efstathiou said.

“There were bigger events – like the Justin Bieber concert and others – that were money-spinners for the stadium.”

WPRU declined to comment, while Cape Town Stadium official Lesley de Reuck had not responded to questions yet.

Stuart Diamond, a mayoral committee member for assets and facilities management for the City of Cape Town‚ said the city was in the process of establishing a municipal entity for the stadium.

“The key element of this process is the formal establishment of the company‚ including the appointment of a board of directors‚” Diamond said.

“Securing an anchor tenant or tenants for the stadium remains a top priority for the city and obviously for the future municipal entity.

“The city remains optimistic it will be achieved in the near future and when meaningful traction is gained, it will be duly communicated.”

Efstathiou said if rugby became the stadium’s main tenant‚ soccer would be at a disadvantage.

“If rugby becomes the primary tenants of the Cape Town Stadium‚ we will be at a disadvantage because their fixtures are released early‚” he said.

“There are other issues that will see football continuing to play second or even third fiddle at a venue that was built for the Fifa 2010 World Cup.

“We understand that the stadium must be sustainable, by attracting big events, but we must be consulted so that we are part of a process that will provide a lasting partnership.”

Cape Town City Football Club owner John Comitis said he was not aware WPRU could be moving in.

He echoed his Ajax counterparts, saying Cape Town City would also like to be part of a consultative process because they also use the stadium.

“We arrived at the stadium at the beginning of the season, when bookings had already been done, but we managed to negotiate a better deal for ourselves as Cape Town City Football Club‚” Comitis said.

“We are not aware that rugby will be moving into the stadium but, if that happens, we will position ourselves for the coming season. We will engage them as soon as our fixtures are out.”