A platform for the world
The eyes of the sporting world and beyond will shortly be cast upon South Africa, as the draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup is imminent. One stadium that will be thrust into the limelight is in the municipality of Nelson Mandela Bay.
South Africa is playing host to next yearÔÇÖs colourful carnival of the FIFA World Cup, which has become one of the biggest events of its kind to bring the world together. As such, the tournament provides an enormous welter of opportunities for the South African people and economy and it has therefore been vital to ensure everything is in place before the big kick-off on 11 June, 2010.
One of the key challenges for the host country has been to modernise and update its infrastructure, in order to meet the expectations of the hordes of soccer fans likely to descend upon it over the ensuing months. That has, of course, included the development of vast stadiums like the Nelson Mandela Bay Multi-Purpose Stadium.
This is the first time a truly world-class soccer stadium has been built in the Eastern Cape Province. The facility boasts 150 VIP suites, 60 business suites, a sports clothing shop, gymnasium, 500 parking bays and lecture and function rooms.
The Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium Project was part of a bigger programme to construct five new stadiums across this soccer-mad corner of the world; it subsequently became the first to be both started and completed ahead of 2010.
Both the speed of the construction project and its sheer scale are impressive; work on the 43,000-seater outdoor arena (with a further 5,000 temporary seats in place for the big event) only began in March 2007, with the 36th and final roof girder set in place on 12 March, 2009.
The stadium, costing an estimated R1.7 billion to construct, is located in the North End suburb of Port Elizabeth. The building project was a joint venture between locally-based Grinaker-LTA and Dutch company Interbon. In addition to the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Grinaker-LTA was also awarded the contract for the construction of Soccer City in Johannesburg. Grinaker-LTA's portion of the project is split between its building company and its civil engineering company, which is overseeing the construction of the stadium.
The dimensions of the project are vastÔÇösome 138,000 cubic metres of material were excavated as part of the process, with 31,000 cubic metres of concrete set to construct the site. Steel and aluminium were used extensively in the structure, which boasts a roof span of 46 metres.
The total length of piles installed was 21,000 metres and the building is approximately 40 metres high, comprising of six levels on the western side in addition to five on each of the north, south and east stands. Two big viewing screens will be installed for the live viewing of events, as well as two conference rooms, which are able to accommodate 200 people and will be located on the fifth level.
The roof material of the stadium consists of a combination of aluminium cladding combined with a membrane material called PTFE (polytetraflurethylene), which is a coated glass-fibre fabric and steel super structure.
Beyond the bare statistics, the project required enormous feats of civil engineering expertise. The stadium has an eye-catching, unique roof structure and a spectacular view which overlooks the North End Lake. However, such a design required additional planning of sub-surface drainage, raker beam fabrication, columns and pre-cast seating elements, bulk water supply and bulk sewer discharge, bulk stormwater and earthworks. The challenge of a high water table as a result of the lake was resolved through the construction of a channel to take away water seepage and lake overflow.
The playing area is surrounded by a concrete moat, which serves the dual function of buffering the pitch from the spectators as well forming part of the stormwater channel inside the stadium. In case of an emergency evacuation, bridges over the moat have been developed to allow for the rapid evacuation of the spectators onto the pitch.
In recent years, the construction industry has come to terms with environmental issues and energy-saving concepts at the design phase. It therefore comes as little surprise that the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium has embraced energy efficiency as a key element of its design. Among the initiatives taken are energy-saving designs, temperature control and reduced energy consumption rates. The playing surface uses natural grass, with the laying of the pitch itself completed in December 2008.
As one might expect, the arrival in town of the World Cup has provided many opportunities for local businesses, with construction very much at the forefront. It is estimated that the construction of the new stadium created in the region of 6,800 jobs in the Port Elizabeth area with many people being trained in new skills. In addition to the building work, many local suppliers have also benefitted from this project.
With the stadium now completed, the next phase has been to trial the facilities with events ahead of the big kick-off next June. On 4th July this year the new arena hosted the 2009 PremierÔÇÖs Cup between Supersport United, Kaizer Chiefs, Bloemfontein Celtic and Bay United, catering for the needs of 20,000 fans.
Further events included a WomanÔÇÖs Day celebration on 9th August, which included a double-header of womenÔÇÖs soccer matches and female musical acts, while November saw the stadium host its first international football match between Bafana Bafana (South Africa) and Japan, in front of an audience of 44,000 ecstatic fans.
It is expected that the work on the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium will leave a long-lasting legacy on the surrounding residential and commercial area of the North End. Part of this project has already included significant upgrading of the nearby transport infrastructure.
So the stage is truly set for an event that South Africans hope will highlight to the world all the great things happening in their countryÔÇöand what more fitting platform for this than an arena named after their inspirational former leader?
