The closure forms part of the annual maintenance programme to ensure that the pitch and facility remains in good condition and is ready for the next sporting season. The stadium is also a popular events venue during the latter part of the year, therefore, from a public safety perspective routine maintenance will need to be carried out during the next three months.

In addition to the above, the Athlone Stadium needs to meet a set of stringent criteria to retain its Grading Certificate in terms of the Safety at Sports and Recreational Events Act (SASREA) No 2 of 2010. The stadium is currently non-compliant with the National Building Regulations (NBR) and the SASREA, and is operating under a conditional certificate, which will expire on the 15 June 2019.  Under the conditional certificate, only certain parts of the stadium can be used for events thereby reducing the number of attendees for larger events.

Should the City fail to comply with the required legislation, it is at risk of losing its Grading Certificate, which will lead to the ultimate shut-down of the facility in June.

Requirements of SASREA
The requirements of the SASREA is to provide for measures to safeguard the physical well-being of persons and property at sports and recreational events, or similar events held at stadia, nationally.

The SASREA requirements stipulate compliance with a number of certificates such as an Electrical compliance certificate, Fire and Safety certificate, Occupational Health and Safety Certificate, a full set of stadium design layouts and approved building plans, among other requirements.

Inspections, in terms of the grading certification process revealed several non-compliance issues within the occupied areas in the North and East Stands that were created by the occupants prior to the SASREA. These include no approved building plans for the alterations, non-compliant partitioning (not fire-proof) and non-compliance with Disabled Regulations. Additionally, exits have been gated and locked that pose an even greater risk in the event of an emergency.

City’s engagement with occupants
To comply with SASREA, the City has been engaging, since November 2018, with the affected parties for all non-operational stadium occupants to move their operations from the premises. Notices to this effect were issued to all occupants notifying them to be off-site by 31 January 2019.

The City would like to thank those occupants, both internal and external, who understood the importance of what is required and have already moved off-site to new accommodation.

Contrary to what has been perpetuated in the media by some of the occupants, the City has documented its engagement sessions with each one. Although, not all have responded to the City’s requests.

It must be noted that the majority of the occupants are commercial businesses and only a few are NGOs. The City has met with the affected parties and have had a series of high-level discussions during the past six months.

The City understood their challenges and the occupants were subsequently granted a further three-month reprieve to find alternate premises, until the 15 May 2019, when the conditional Grading Certificate was due to lapse as a result of non-compliance with the conditions thereof.

A further extension was requested to the occupants, and after consultation, the City has granted a final extension of one month only until 19 June 2019 for the occupants to evacuate in order for the facility to ensure compliance or be shut-down. 

The City is confident that the occupants would cooperate in order for the facility to retain its Grading Certificate and remain open. It is in the interests of the sporting fraternity, the events community and residents of Cape Town that we comply with SASREA in order for all to benefit from the stadium. It goes beyond a few individuals holding the City to ransom and disadvantaging the broader community.

The City went the extra mile and offered alternate facilities to some of the occupants and they declined the offer. While the City is not obligated to find any of the occupants alternative accommodation, we have attempted to accommodate the parties concerned where possible.

While the City regrets the inconvenience to the commercial users, the Cape Music Institute and SAFA Cape Town, our priority is to ensure that the venue is compliant, safe and available for use by both the sporting and the events fraternity. This is not negotiable.

The City is committed to ensuring a quality and compliant facility for its residents and thanks all stakeholders, in advance, for their cooperation in this matter.

End