By Liesl Peyer.
A refurbished viewing platform, all-new sky car and a zipline are all part of a multi-million-rand upgrade planned for the landmark Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba announced on Thursday.
The city council recently gave the go-ahead for the extensive refurbishment project, estimated at R236 million. It is the biggest revamp of the stadium since it opened ahead of the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
Xaba says the upgrade is part of a “routine maintenance programme” to ensure it remains world class and continues to attract major sporting events.
The multipurpose basket-shaped stadium is a regular host of major local Premier League finals, and is across the road from the Kings Park Stadium, which continues to host the Sharks and Springbok rugby matches in Durban.
This year alone, the Moses Mabhida Stadium hosted the Nedbank Cup quarter final and the MTN 8 Cup, “attended by over 60 000 fans”.
“We want to assure all our stakeholders that the venue is structurally sound, and it will continue to host major events while the repairs are ongoing,” added Xaba.
The planned new features include:
- A new viewing platform with a 60% increase in floor area and cantilevered glass floor to create an ‘airwalk’ experience;
- A new sky car with increased travel time, which will also be accessible to people with disabilities;
- A new big swing for bungee jumping, with improved access to the launch platform;
- A new zipline that ends at the People’s Park for after-adventure refreshments; and
- A compression ring walk, which provides panoramic views with a sea-facing bungee jump option.
Xaba said the upgraded stadium would be positive for the city as the were reopening of the Hilton hotel, the billion-rand investment that will be made by Southern Sun group in the Elangeni and Maharani redevelopment and improvements being made along the promenade.