Stadium Guide: Moses Mabhida Stadium

Durban’s new Moses Mabhida Stadium has been designed as a state-of-the-art, world-class stadium for the 2010 World Cup, and as a multi-functional and easy-to-maintain asset for the city of Durban to enjoy in the future. The creation of this precinct means that Durban will be one of the few African cities able to host most of the Olympic disciplines within a single sporting precinct.

The stadium infield has been designed and built in accordance with the latest international sporting codes. It will have the capacity to hold 70,000 spectators during the World Cup and will then be reduced to 54,000 in legacy mode, once the tournament has ended. This gives the stadium a huge capacity, and it has therefore won the right to host one of the semi-finals during the competition.

The Moses Mabhida Stadium seeks to be more than just a football stadium, and more still than just a sporting facility. The venue strives to become a cultural, sporting and general events hub, while providing the city with yet another tourist attraction in its own right, with the stunning design and arch which floats high above the city providing visitors with plenty to see.

Facts

--City: Durban

- Surface: Grass

- Capacity: 70,000

- The entire stadium has been designed and built in line with all the latest safety and security requirements.

- 150 suites, housing a total of 7,500 seats, will cover a range of different hospitality options.

- The stadium is owned by the South African Football Association and will be used to cater for a variety of sporting activities such as rugby, cricket and athletics, apart from football.

- The arena will host what may be the most anticipated game of the group stages at the World Cup, with Portugal taking on Confederations Cup champions Brazil.

- The stadium was officially completed in November 2009.

- The roof, consisting of Teflon coated glass fibre membranes.

- 46,000 square metres in total.

- is attached to the arch by 95mm diameter steel cables.

History

Named after a hero of the working class people; the Kwazulu Natal’s Moses Mabhida Stadium located adjacent the ABSA Stadium in the Kings Park Sporting Precinct - a site located in Stamford Hill, is yet another world class multi-purpose stadium set to make history at the 2010 World Cup, for which the venue was newly built.

To make way for the arena, Kings Park Stadium was demolished in late 2006 to develop a new stadium complex set to comprise of an adjoining indoor arena, sporting museum, sports institute and a new transmodal transportation station for the world showpiece.

Plus And Minuses

Pluses

- Each seat is spacious and has excellent site lines and ease of access is ensured, with 50% of the stadium's seats accessible from the main entrance level.

- The huge capacity of 70,000 seats means that this venue is one of the biggest at the World Cup, with only Soccer City in Johannesburg able to boast a bigger capacity.

- The stadium will allow for the safe and unimpeded movement of pedestrians and vehicles on major match days.

- With its facilities, it is not only a tourist attraction in its own right, but also the centrepiece of the King's Park Sporting Precinct, which will support a wide range of sporting, commercial, cultural, retail and leisure activities seven days a week, 365 days a year.

- The design of the actual stadium is possibly the most beautiful of the newly built stadiums, with Soccer City, Cape Town Stadium and Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium all vying for the crown.

- The weather in Durban during the World Cup will provide some of the warmest and most pleasant winter weather imaginable.

Minuses

- The stadium seats a whopping 70,000 people, and the games will be sold out, so it will take some time for spectators to leave the venue once the game is over.

Games To Be Played

The Moses Mabhida Stadium will have the pleasure of hosting five group matches, one second round match, and a semi-final match at the 2010 World Cup. The group stages will see some of the world’s top teams in action, with Germany playing Australia, Spain taking on Switzerland, Netherlands facing Japan and Nigeria clashing with South Korea, before the ultimate group stage encounter between the mighty football giants of Portugal and Brazil.