Cape Town Stadium Ready in 3 months

Cape Town puts the final touches on its very own world class stadium

Cape Town's new Green point stadium is well on schedule for the handover of the stadium to the City of Cape Town on 14 December 2009. The glass roof of the new Cape Town Stadium will be completed and sealed, and the fabric membrane underneath fully installed by 15 October 2009.

With less than three months to the deadline for completion of the stadium, contractors are busy with the final touches to what many visitors and journalists believe will be one of the finest stadia in the world. Cape Town will host eight World Cup matches at the stadium, most of them at night, including one semi-final.

All the concrete work is complete, and the focus is now on commissioning cabling, IT infrastructure and electricity connections. Closed circuit television cameras, used to monitor crime and crowd behaviour, are still to be installed.

Construction of the steel support columns for the exterior fabric façade of the stadium is 70 percent complete, and the fabric will be attached as weather permits. The outer 'skin' - which will give a warm glow to the light emanating from the stadium - is scheduled for completion by the end of November 2009.

Work is also underway on the internal architectural finishes such as painting, ceilings, doors and locks. Most of the inside equipment has been installed on five of the six levels.

About 25 percent of the 68 000 seats have been installed, and the multi-layered foundations are being laid for the pitch. Temporary seating to raise capacity from 55 000 to 68 000 for the World Cup will be installed early in 2010.

Two pitches have been prepared in Stellenbosch, one of which will be held in reserve. The grass pitch is due to be laid in October.

The current stadium Visitor Centre will close at the end of September 2009 and the City is looking to make alternative arrangements for visitors until a new visitor centre is opened by the stadium operators in January 2010.

Three 'test' events are planned prior to kick-off. Details are not yet finalised, but events will be held for 20 000, 40 000 and 60 000 spectators between January and April 2010.

Things you might not know about the new Green point Stadium:

• There are 7,4 kilometres of steel cabling in the stadium roof

• The glass covers 37 000 square metres and there are about 9 000 pieces of glass

• The roof weighs 4 500 tons

• Under the stadium are police holding cells, a large media centre, a drop-off zone for players and VIPs, practise and warming-up areas and lifts to the upper levels.

For more exciting news on the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa browse our FIFA 2010 Section.

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