Stadium hit by contract delay

MBDA extends management deal deadline

THE contract for a new Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium operator is unlikely to be finalised by the time the existing contract expires next week. It is expected the municipality will decide today how the facility will be managed from next Friday once the existing contract with Access Management expires.

The Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA), tasked by the municipality to oversee the process, has been wading through five bids since the process opened last month.

Bidders include operator Access Management and Stadium Management SA, which runs the country’s biggest facility – the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg.

MBDA spokesman Luvuyo Bangazi said the delay was due to the “voluminous nature of the bids” as the contract was about more than running only the stadium bowl.

“There are new elements in this bid that talk to complex property development and an aggressive events strategy,” Bangazi said.

“We have made a recommendation [to the municipality] for an interim arrangement to start on July 1.”

The bidders were told of the delay last week, with the stadium to be managed “in terms of a supply chain management deviation” from next Friday.

Bangazi said no decision had been made on who would be appointed.

“That decision will be made in due course and announced [by the municipality].”

Acting municipal manager Johann Mettler said options were still being weighed up.

“These options must take all considerations into account, paramount of which is the effective and efficient management of the stadium from July 1,” he said.

“We would have concluded on a preferred approach by [today].”

Bidding opened on May 3 with the municipality deciding on a two-phase approach, essentially looking for a company to run the stadium for a year, while the bidding process for a 15-year contract was under way.

Stadium Management SA confirmed it had been told about the delay. The company said it had made submissions for both the one-year and the 15-year periods.