Stadium Guide: Mbombela Stadium

Mbombela Stadium is the pride of Nelspruit, the capital city of the Mpumalanga province in South Africa. The name means ‘many people together in a small space’ in the siSwati language, and the venue will certainly attract many people to Nelspruit during the World Cup in June, when four matches will take place.

The rectangular shaped stadium is situated about seven kilometres outside of Nelspruit, on community owned land. At the peak of construction, 1,300 people were on site and working to build what is by far the best public sporting arena east of Johannesburg, through the province of Mpumalanga, through Mozambique and all the way to the Indian Ocean.

Mbombela is a new 43,500-seat stadium and is one of the 10 venues for the FIFA World Cup 2010. The stadium is the centrepiece of a proposed sports precinct with athletics and cricket as well as other sporting codes able to be practiced within the complex. Construction commenced in February 2007, and the venue was completed by the end of 2009.

Facts

- City: Nelspruit

- Surface: Grass

- Capacity: 43,500

- The seating is divided into three tiers with 21,000 lower tier, 3,500 middle tier and 19,000 on the upper tier.

- Digital media specialist Spectrum Visual Networks supplied light-emitting diode (LED) screens for the stadium.

- The pitch is sized for Rugby 100x70m and Soccer 105x68m and floodlit to 2,200 lux to meet FIFA requirements.

- The 1,450 tonne roof covers an area of 22,500 square metres and will cover 95% of the seats.

- The roof floats free from the top of the seating bowl with a 6m gap to provide ventilation in the hot climate and also to provide views to the surrounding hills from the seating bowl.

- Visiting teams and supporters will be able to experience safari drives in the nearby Kruger National Park, where all of Africa’s Big Five (Lion, Leopard, Rhino, Buffalo and Elephant) can be found.

Plus and Minuses

Pluses

- The bowl design puts every seat as close as practical to the field and maintains excellent sightlines over the heads of spectators.

- The giraffe-shapes that ring the stadium are distinctive and imaginative, while the zebra-style seating is unique – making the Nelspruit venue particularly impressive and beautiful.

- The stadium has been designed to ensure it enjoys a life beyond the 2010 World Cup tournament as an adaptable sports, entertainment and exhibition venue.

- The Mbombela Stadium is located in one of the poorer provinces and has used local labour and materials whenever possible, boosting the local economy.

- The design of the stadium allows for protection from the harsh sunshine and hot conditions in the area.

Minuses

- There were originally problems with the pitch and drainage, forcing it to be re-laid in order for it to grow properly and to a sufficient degree ahead of the World Cup in June.

Games To Be Played

Four group stage matches will grace the pitch at Mbombela Stadium during the month of June. Honduras takes on Chile in the first game to be held in the African-themed arena, while defending champions Italy will be facing New Zealand. The other two games taking place in Nelspruit see Australia clash with Serbia, and North Korea play against Ivory Coast.