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For many Capetonians the Green Point Stadium which is billed to host one of the semi-finals of the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup is nothing but a construction site, and it is difficult to imagine this construction site hosting such a prestigious event in less than two year's time.
The stadium's architecture has been designed to compliment Cape Town's sky line, particularly Table Mountain, with sweeping architecture and a stretched fibre-glass mesh. While stadiums traditionally have very flat horizontal edges the designers have attempted to break these hard lines with a much more fluid looking structure that will compliment the stadium's exquisite setting.
The stadium is scheduled for completion in December 2009, allowing at least six months for the grass to bed down before the arrival of the World Cup in June 2010. When the stadium is completed it will probably be one of the most picturesque stadiums in the world. It will have Cape Town's signature of Table Mountain framed by Signal Hill, Lions Head and Devils Peak as its backdrop. As if this was not enough of a cinematographer's dream the stadium's north western view is out towards the Atlantic Ocean and the historic Robben Island.
It is astounding to see how quickly the stadium is changing from a big pit with a plethora of cranes to a skeleton of a stadium that will host 68 000 fans during each of the games of the 2010 world cup.
The stadium will host five of the first round games, one of the Round 16 games, a quarter final and finally one of the semi-finals.
Ultimately the stadium will be at the centre of a huge urban parkland that will host a wide range of sports facilities for all Capetonians.
The completed stadium will consist of "6 levels" comprising of:
Ground Level Sports team rooms, VIP and VIP reception, lowest parking level, medical and police facilities, waste collection and compaction;
Level 1 Media areas, TV and radio studios, FIFA offices and sports event staff offices, and upper parking level;
Level 2: Public Plaza main concourse pedestrian access down to lowest tier and up to second tier, disabled person's seating, fan shop, VIP welcome zone, concession stands;
Level 3 Lower level of business club, multi-purpose hall, security and police offices, operator's storage spaces, smaller food kitchens;
Level 4 Upper level of business club, larger food preparation kitchens, stadium administration (operator's) offices;
Level 5 VIP lounges and private corporate boxes.
Level 6 Upper concourse, concession stands and access onto third tier of seats; and
The roof which is located above the highest level of seats, and contains an accessible roof including the lighting and media zone, with catwalk access into and through the roof structure.
There has been significant skepticism about whether the stadium will be completed in time for the 2010 World Cup, but judging by the speed with which this stadium is being constructed there is no reason to doubt that Cape Town is going to host one of the most spectacular semi-finals that world soccer has ever seen. BRING ON 2010!
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