Athlone Stadium - the traditional home of football in the Western Cape - is being transformed by a 400 million rand facelift that will raise it to the standard required for a 2010 FIFA World Cup™ training venue.

The benefits of the upgrading will be felt for many years after the World Cup as a lasting legacy for all the people of Cape Town. The facelift also signifies the start of a new era and the city's new status as a leading force in national football.

Part of the upgrading is the replacement of the grass pitch which has been used for many years by Cape Town's leading soccer clubs, including Ajax and Santos. FIFA has stipulated that the grass must be the same as the playing surface for World Cup matches at Green Point Stadium.

Two Cape Town football venues at Athlone and Phillippi have been designated as official Host City training venues, known as Venue Specific Training Sites (VSTS). Because the world's leading teams will be using the venues for their World Cup build-up, FIFA has issued a list of minimum requirements.

Under the expert eye of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee's (OC) pitch monitoring committee, the Athlone pitch was assessed and found to be below the standard required. The tender for a surface that meets specification has now been awarded and work is set to begin.

Laboratory tests will be done on the soil, water and plant material, and a scientific fertiliser programme will be introduced. Improvements include laser levelling of the pitch, resetting the irrigation system and monitoring the drainage.

The new pitch will consist of a kikuyu base (warm season turf), overseeded with rye (cool season turf) to ensure play throughout the year. It is expected to be ready for play by August this year, in time for the start of the PSL season. However, the rye overseeding will be done in March 2010, four months before the World Cup gets underway in June 2010.

Meanwhile work is continuing on the installation of the roof for the World Cup stadium at Green Point. The contractors are due to hand over the completed 68 000-seat stadium to the City of Cape Town on December 14, a full six months before kick-off.

Issued by: Communication Department, City of Cape Town.
Media enquiries: Nick Whiteley (2010 Media: City of Cape Town) Tel: 021-400 3192 Cell: 082 4100797.