The clock is ticking for stadium repairs
Under normal circumstances, news that the Richards Bay Football Club had been drawn to play their Nedbank Cup fixture against Mamelodi Sundowns would have been welcomed with unbridled joy - more so as the draw favoured the NRB side as the home team.
However, the elation was severely dampened by two inhibiting factors.
One is the fact that the ban on fans at soccer stadiums is still in force under the present Covid restrictions.
The other, and far more relevant factor, is that the sword of Damocles that hung over the pathetic condition over the uMhlathuze Stadium finally fell shortly after the start of the current season when the PSL authorities declared the venue too dangerous to accommodate matches.
The warning signs were given as far back as 2018 when structural flaws at the stadium – which was built in haste ahead of the 2010 World Cup – were identified by a PSL delegation.
This newspaper was at the forefront of publicising the terrible and ever-deteriorating state of the stadium, including photographic evidence of water pouring through the roof and ceilings via light fittings and electrical plugs, leaving players in ankle-deep water in the change rooms and the admin offices flooded.
The PSL reluctantly shut up shop at the stadium, saying they would return to inspect whatever repairs and renovations were done so that normality could be resumed as soon as possible. Until then, all the ‘home’ games would be played in Durban – at extra cost and inconvenience.
Alas, the only item that was replaced was the playing field’s perimeter fence, ironically, one of the few items that had been in satisfactory condition; in fact, it would not have appeared on a top 20 priority list of things to be done.
At the end of last year, council recommitted to doing the necessary repairs.
Early signs were good as professionals in various disciplines inspected the building.
One hoped that the stadium would soon be teeming with the hard hat brigade. It hasn’t happened and football fans are not holding their breath.
The situation goes far beyond disappointment or inconvenience.
Our local stars are currently top of the GladAfrica Championship log and in a few months’ time they could well win promotion to the top tier of SA soccer.
This would mean the likes of Kaizer Chiefs, Pirates, Sundowns etc – and their hordes of fans – descending on the city to swell the domestic tourism coffers and put the name of the city and district in the TV spotlight throughout the continent. The reality is that it looks like it will be Durban, not Richards Bay that will derive all the benefit…unless the stadium is repaired promptly.