Sakubva Stadium renovations progressing well
RENOVATIONS at Manicaland’s ceremonial home of football – Sakubva Stadium – are progressing per plan, with the first haulage carrying 1 000-square metres of the new lawn already delivered on the site, while planting has started.
Sakubva Stadium was closed for renovations early this year and plans are that the facility will only be available for use early next year.
In the past, Sakubva Stadium would be incessantly banned from hosting top-flight league football due to the poor state of the facility until the local authority management decided to do a once-and-for-all task on the turf.
The establishment of the new turf project is anticipated to be completed within two weeks’ time.
The contractor has since completed the vertical drainage.
Mutare City Council spokesperson, Spren Mutiwi said: “The profile of the vertical drainage entails that there is bedding sand at the bottom where perforated drainage pipes have been laid on top of it.These pipes are covered by a layer of three quarter stones.
“The layer of three quarter stones in turn is covered with filter sand. The stadium has 16 trunk drainage lines. There are also additional 20 auxiliary branching lines of perforated pipes interconnecting the trunk lines.
“On the lateral drainage, over and above the vertical drainage which has perforated pipes, there is a lateral surface drainage. An average slope of 70 to 75 percent has been designed. This will necessitate and allow for additional water to flow outwards the stadium from the four directions of the centre circle. It is noteworthy that the surface drainage is done using the organic soil with the lawn is being on the surface of the organic soil.”
Mutiwi said the local authority is confident of meeting the required standards.
“A highly draining organic soil covers the entire surface of the soil. The properties of organic soil are such that it allows excess soil in the ground to drain into filter sand, then the three quarter stones into the sub-surface drainage pipes. The organic soil has a rate of lawn nutrients retention
“One step, one day at a time we are slowly moving towards restoring Sakubva Stadium and meet the soccer governing body approval standards,” he said.