Sales determine facilities

THE Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium wishes to acknowledge Gordon Upton’s letter titled “Let schools play at stadium” (February 5).

We appreciate his feedback as a valuable stakeholder, and hope he will continue supporting his team and visiting our stadium.

We would like to first apologise for the dissatisfaction previously experienced at our stadium.

To ensure a smooth spectator experience, the stadium operations plan (including but not limited to security, concessions stalls and medical) is determined by projected ticket sales and distributions prior to the event date.

This acts as a guide to the facilities operating on the day.

We often encourage our spectators to purchase their tickets prior to event day to enable our operations team to plan accordingly.

With regard to curtain-raisers, the stadium in partnership with its anchor tenants, the Southern Kings, has hosted a number of under-19 and under-21 provincial matches, as well as a host of schools (including lower primary schools) within the metro.

We continue to work tirelessly behind the scenes to offer spectators an unforgettable event and customer service experience.

We have in the past erected and activated a beer garden/fan park.

However, due to budget constraints, this is now activated on a match-specific basis.

We appreciate the feedback and thank Upton for his suggestions.

We have an open door policy, should he wish to engage further on the matter.

Mpho Mokonyama, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium manager