Up for the Cup

Carlin Gerbich , June 13th, 2010

The 2010 FIFA World Cup is upon us and, as you follow the action over the coming weeks, thousands of spectators will flood through the gates of South Africa’s best and newest sports stadiums to witness the action and drama unfold.

South Africa has pulled out all the stops to host the World Cup. It’s poured more than ZAR17.4 billion (AED8.1 billion) into the event, including ZAR8.4 billion (AED3.9 billion) for the construction of five brand new stadiums and the substantial upgrade of five others, and ZAR9 billion (AED4.2 billion) into transport and supporting infrastructure works, solely for World Cup venues.

On a far wider scale, the South African government has also spent ZAR 400 billion (AED 188 billion) on the country's infrastructure – from rail freight services and energy production, to communications, airports and ports of entry – to gear itself for the event.

The funding has enabled architects, contractors and suppliers to have each stadium completed well ahead of schedule. With the eyes of the football world now focused keenly on South Africa, Construction Week takes a look at each of the venues that will be used over the coming month.

Next page: Green Point Stadium, Cape Town

THE FIVE NEW STADIUMS

Green Point Stadium, Cape Town
Cape Town’s Green Point Stadium is one of the largest of the five new stadia completed in time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Built at a cost of ZAR 3.25 billion (AED 1.5 billion), the stadium was designed by project GMP Architects of Germany and two local firms, Louis Karol and Associates and Point Architects.

It was built by Murray & Roberts (the company contracted for the fit-out, finishes and MEP of Terminal 3, Concourse 2 and the car park of the Dubai International Airport, along with local partner Al Habtoor Engineering and Takenaka of Japan) and WBHO who completed the work in just 32 months.

The stadium seats 68,000, is 55m high and has a fabric façade and a steel cable tensioned glazed roof.

The project employed approximately 10,500 people, with 13.5 million hours worked. The superstructure was completed in October 2008 and project handed over in December 2009.

Stadium: Green Point Stadium
City: Cape Town
Scope of work: complete construction
Architect: GMP Architects
Contractor: Murray & Roberts / WBHO joint venture
Started: March 2007
Completed: December 2009
Cost: ZAR3.25bn/AED1.51bn
Capacity: 68,000

Fast facts
96,000m³ - Concrete used on project
4,700 tons - The weight of the roof
9,000 - Glass panels in the roof
5,234,000 - Total bricks used

Next page: Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban

Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban
Of all new stadiums built for in time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium is easily the most impressive. It replaces the Kings Park Stadium which was demolished in 2006 to make way for the new sporting complex, and includes an adjoining indoor arena, sports museum, sport institute and a new transportation station.

The stadium seats 70,000 and will host first and second round matches of the World Cup, as well as quarter and semi-finals. Seating can be increased to accommodate 84,000 for larger events, like the Olympics. The 106m high, 350m long steel archway is more than decorative too: a funicular cable car takes visitors up to the highest point where they can get out and enjoy the panoramic views of the city and ocean.

Stadium: Moses Mabhida Stadium
City: Durban
Scope of work: complete construction
Architect: iBhola Lethu
Contractor: Group 5 / WBHO / Pandev joint venture
Work started: July 2006
Completed: November 2009
Cost: ZAR3.4bn/AED1.6bn
Capacity: 54,000 permanent, 84,000 maximum

Construction facts
1,780 - Pre-cast seating panels
2,600 tons - Steel centre arch weight
46,000m² - Size of Teflon-coated roof

Next page: Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit

Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
Of the five new stadiums built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the Mbombela venue is the only one designed by South African architects. R&L Architects, based in Cape Town, involved international consultants in the project to design a stadium that was not only the least expensive of the five new stadia, but also one of the most distinctly African venues.

The black-and-white zebra seats were inspired by the nearby Kruger Park game reserve, as are the 18-giraffe roof supports that jut skywards on the building’s exterior.

Designers kept things simple to keep costs down: the stadium is rectangular, so does away with the complex design and construction required for rounded corners of more elaborate stadiums; while local material supply also kept transport costs and carbon footprint at bay. Most of the labour for the project was also provided by local workers.

Mbombela stadium, fittingly, takes its name from the local municipality, which translated means ‘many people together in a small space’.

Stadium: Mbombela Stadium
Region: Nelspruit
Scope of work: complete construction
Architect: RL Architects
Contractor: Basil Read / Bouygues joint venture
Work started: February 2007
Completed: October 2009
Cost: ZAR1.05bn/AED490m
Capacity: 43,589

Construction facts
5.5m - Man-hours that went in to the construction
70% - Amount of workforce involved who were local to the area

Next page: Nelson Mandela Stadium, Port Elizabeth

Nelson Mandela Stadium, Port Elizabeth
The first international class football stadium to be built in the Eastern Cape province, the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium is built on the shores of Port Elizabeth’s North End Lake and cost ZAR2.1bn (AED1bn) – more than eight times its original estimate.

Part of that additional cost included unforeseen excavation works and construction of a channel to divert the lake’s water table away from the stadium’s foundations.

The stadium's construction was handled by a consortium made up of Grinaker-LTA, Interbeton and Ibhayi JV. It was built on the site of the old Parks Rugby Club, and the Prince Alfred Park.

The stadium is designed to withstand the region’s notorious high winds and has been nick-named the Sunflower, with each of the “petals” constructed from a combination of aluminium and a glass-fibre coated material (polytetrafluethylene) over a steel superstructure.

Stadium: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium
City: Port Elizabeth
Work started: January 2007
Completed: June 2009
Scope of work: complete construction
Cost: ZAR2.1bn/AED1.6bn
Capacity: 45,000 permanent, 49,000 maximum

Construction facts
138,000m³ - Total excavated material
49,000 - Total seat capacity
21,000m - Total length of piling
6,800 - Jobs created during construction

Next page: Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane

Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane
Leading South African firm WBHO has been involved in the construction of three of the five new World Cup stadia, and the Peter Mokaba venue in Polokwane, the northern most of the 10 host cities, is right in the heart of the soccer crazy Limpopo region.

Like the Mbombela stadium, it leans heavily on the local region for its design inspiration: the Baobab tree-inspired structural elements in each corner of the stadium support the main roof truss over its 172m span, while the undulating roof surface blends in with the local surroundings.

Construction required 20,000m³ of excavation work and 52,000m³ of concrete (excluding formwork), while 9,000 tons of rebar was also used. The stadium seats 45,000 fans and cost ZAR1.24bn/AED580m to build.

Stadium: Peter Mokaba Stadium
City: Polokwane
Scope of work: complete construction
Architect: Prism Architects
Contractor: WBHO / Paul JV
Work began: March 2007
Completed: June 2010
Cost: ZAR1.24bn/AED580m
Capacity: 45,000

Construction facts
23km - Electrical cabling installed
2,990,000 - Bricks used
60,000m³ - Plaster used in fit-out
228 tons - Weight of trusses in the steel roof

Next page: Soccer City, Johannesburg

THE FIVE RENOVATED STADIUMS

New projects have taken the lion's share of the cash set aside for the World Cup, but major work was also required on existing stadia to increase capacity, update facilities and bring them up to FIFA's standards in time for the month-long event.

Soccer City, Johannesburg
Soweto is soccer mad, so Johannesburg’s Soccer City is going to be a hot-bed of excitement as it hosts first and final matches of the 2010 FIFA World Cup this month. Originally built in 1987, the venue has undergone a ZAR1.2b major rebuild that has added 10,000 more seats, 99 more corporate boxes and an encircling roof to keep sun and rain off spectators.

The renovation work included the partial demolition of the old stadium to make way for extensions to the main grandstand, offices and brand new changing rooms. The lighting and PA systems were also upgraded. The stadium design represents a calabash, or African cooking pot which, in turn, is supposed to reflect the region’s ‘melting pot of African cultures’.

Stadium: Soccer City
City: Johannesburg
Originally built: 1987
Scope of World Cup work: major upgrade
Architect: Boogertman Urban Edge
Contractor: Grainaker-LTA / Interbeton joint venture
Cost: AED580m
Started: February 2007
Completed: October 2009
Gross Capacity: 94,700

Construction facts
80,000m³ - Volume of concrete used in the rebuild
10,000 tons - Rebar used during construction
7,100 tons - Structural Steel used throughout the stadium
105,000m³ - Earth excavated during the project

Next page: Ellis Park, Johannesburg

Ellis Park, Johannesburg
Ellis Park is one of the most historic sporting grounds in South Africa and is better known by rugby fans as the place where the Springbox beat New Zealand’s All Blacks to lift the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

The stadium is right in the heart of Johannesburg and was originally built in 1927. It underwent a major rebuild in 1982 to extend capacity to 62,000 and, in 2008, Coca-Cola handed over ZAR480m (AED226m) for naming rights to the stadium.

The cheque almost covered renovations required to bring the stadium up to FIFA World Cup standards: adding state-of-the-art media facilities, team whirlpools, top-class VIP areas for dignitaries, accessibility for disabled fans, a new pitch and a top-notch audio-visual setup, including new scoreboard, to keep the fans informed during the game.

Stadium: Ellis Park/Coca-Cola Park
City: Johannesburg
First built: 1928, rebuilt 1982
Scope of World Cup work: upgrade
Architect: DBM Architects
Contractor: Rainbow Construction
Cost: ZAR500m / AED240m
Started: July 2007
Completed: 2009
Gross Capacity: 62,000

Construction facts
3.1m - Bricks laid at the stadium
4,500 tons - Rebar used for floor area
500,000 - Pockets of cement used
3.2m - Man-hours went in to the project

Next page: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
One of the oldest stadiums in South Africa, Loftus Versfeld has hosted major sporting events since 1903.

Situated in the Tshwane/Pretoria region, Loftus Versfeld has undergone perennial upgrades to keep it at the forefront of national and international sports – and the latest includes a new media centre that was constructed in the lower level of the west stand.

Venue management was also required to fit new floodlights, scoreboard and a sound system to fit in with FIFA requirements, while a roof was also fitted to keep sun and rain off spectators.

Stadium: Loftus Versfeld
City: Pretoria
First Built: 1923
Major rebuilds: 1984
Scope of World Cup work: upgrade
Architect: Ingplan Africa
Contractor: No main contractor
Construction began: September 2007
Completed: 2009
Gross Capacity: 51,762

Construction facts
1923 - First concrete structure built on site
51,762 - Stadium capacity

Next page: Royal Bafokeng, Rustenburg

Royal Bafokeng, Rustenburg
Constructed in 1999, the Royal Bafokeng stadium in Phokeng, near the platinum-rich city of Rustenburg, has been extended to cater for 42,000 fans and to bring it up to the requirements of FIFA, the sport’s governing body.

The only privately owned stadium used for this year’s World Cup, Royal Bafokeng's committee appointed South African firm BSP Architects to design the larger western grandstand and its cantilever roof.

The lighting, PA system and scoreboard were also upgraded, as were all of the facilities, including the media centre, operations centre and parking areas. The upgrade work cost AED 216m, almost four times the original build cost.

Stadium: Royal Bafokeng
City: Rustenburg
First Built: 1999
Scope of World Cup work: upgrade
Architect: BSP Architects
Contractor: No main contractor
Construction began: September 2007
Completed: 2009
Capacity: 42,000

Construction facts
AED56.3m - Cost of total project build in 1999
AED216m - Cost of upgrade work in 2008

Next page: Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein

Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
New turnstiles, a second tier of seating, better lighting and a new sound system should make the Free State Stadium a perfect venue for first and second round matches.

Originally built for the 1995 Rugby World Cup, the stadium has undergone a ZAR 287.4m (AED134.8m) upgrade that includes a major structural change to the main grandstand to house 7,000 more fans, while a new roof, better facilities and new entrance have helped rejuvenate the venue.

Stadium: Free State Stadium
City: Bloemfontein
First Built: 1952
Scope of World Cup work: upgrade
Architect: ACG Architects
Contractor: Ruwacon / Meyker Re Teng Construction / Ikaneng Developments / Promania 128 joint venture
Construction began: September 2007
Completed: 2009
Capacity: 45,058

Construction facts
7,000 - Extra seats after upgrade
2,000 lux - Minimum floodlight requirement for WC stadiums.