Ethekwini councilor mayor Mxolisi Kaunda says it is not surprising that Moses Mabhida Stadium has seen some of its areas crumbling.
However, Kaunda said the municipality is dealing with the issues with urgency and work is already underway.
Some pillars inside the Moses Mabhida Stadium are rusty and the stadium is dirty in the covering stands.
Some doors are broken and the media lift has not been working for some time now, only those in the president’s suites.
There are cracks on the roof, pillars and walls requiring urgent repairs that could cost eThekwini Municipality millions to ensure the stadium is safe for use.
The Sky Car has not been operating since it broke down in 2018, meaning the irrecoverable loss of tourism money, as it can be used for the bungee swing and sky hike.
When it rains, cleaners inside the venue are using buckets to hold the water or the rubbish bins by the doorstep.
This is a result of the stadium being left in decay after 13 years it was open for public consumption post the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals in South Africa, where it hosted the semi-final between Spain and Germany.
“All stadiums, after a long spell, would have defects,” said Kaunda to the iDiski Times.
“We are dealing with those defects and Moses Mabhida Stadium is up and running as you know. Games are still coming and I think we have gone halfway in terms of fixing those defects.”
Late in February, the venue had lights issues, stopping the match between AmaZulu, who used the venue for home games, for some time, resulting in the game being delayed against provincial rivals Royal AM.
Despite the defects, the stadium is the PSL’s favourite when it comes to domestic cup finals, having hosted the MTN8 final last November where Orlando Pirates defeated AmaZulu. It was the third time on the trot the venue hosted the Wafa Wafa Cup final match. In fact, it has hosted more cup finals than any other venue since it was reopened 13 years ago.
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“The venue doesn’t look so bad, it’s beautiful,” added Kaunda.
“The people who come and visit our shores always commend about the beauty of the stadium. So all we need is to do is to fix defects and the defects are not going to be disrupting us all the plans that we have to host big games because we will continue hosting games.”
According to iDiski Times sources, the stadium is one of the most commercially viable venues in the municipality’s coffers, generating about R20 million annually due to hosting events in and around the stadium.
[Image credit: Kevin Sawyer]
