MORNE Posted July 26, 2019 Posted July 26, 2019 Bellville was always the only facility available that could handle the large number of people for events such as MTBS or the USSASA competitions. snip read this in the local this past weekend (the inlaws live that side). They couldn't support the MTBS numbers anymore either...the facilities were not sufficient for the influx of pupils/parents etc. But yea, the athletics part I guess is different...1000s of kids/people could get to use it if in working condition....thats the difference.
ChrisF Posted July 26, 2019 Posted July 26, 2019 disclaimer: this probably will trigger someone i say let it go. it is a white elephant and only gets used (the parking lots actually) for k53 practise most of the time. It's eyesore too...and creates a disparate piece of urban fabric there that can be better integrated into the greater area...whatever they plan to do there, it is a step in the right direction long term.The 5 people who use it still for track racing...sorry. The rest of them that are just emotionally lobbying because it is cycling related and don't ever use it....thats very self entitled of you and being a hypocrite is not cool....do't be a box...be leka. They didnt build a new oval track when they built Durban stadium over it did they?..because it is dead...move on. I find myself in a difficult spot on this topic .... A friend's son is one of the top riders at the Velodrome (actually his buddy that died in the accident a few years ago). I have attended a few events, and taken photos for them. So emotionally it is SAD to see this youngsters sport die away .... Objectively .... only a few family members attend the events. Clearly the sport is "not growing" .... Now if we needed the land for development, yea sure, take it down and build another mall .... but at this point in time we DONT need another mall, hardly 1km from the empty monster up the road. Nor do we need more office space in this area. This is development for the sake of development ..... By the nature of my work I often am involved in viability studies for new developments, and from the outside this one does not seem to make any sense ... As was said, this goes beyond the under utilised velodrome. The athletics track is actually USED. THIS will hurt the sport of athletics in the long run ....
Robo Posted July 26, 2019 Posted July 26, 2019 To be fair that white stadium was built for a purpose and has now become part of the branding of CT with the skyline and all so from an urban design point of view id say it has definitely added value to the city in the eyes of many people. If you own property in that area you will definitely agree too. it is not just the white round thing anymore...it has become iconic to the area, and everything that went with it - contributed to uplifting the area.In anycase It will be used more once Newlands Rugby stadium gets kicked to the curb for (wait for it).....office developments There were plenty of reason why Newlands was not the best choice to upgrade...and they are all catching up to it now. Bluntly - it is outdated and crap.Zero access, outdated facilities...just plain a sucky experience all round when visiting it. Coming back to the Velodrome...Just because it's the ONLY indoor cycling venue in the city does not give it any more validity in my opinion. it is outdated, old and caters for only one thing really....a thing that is dying (if not already dead). If some billionaire cyclist went and donated R100mil to upgrade and uplift it....it will still not get used because there is just no interest in that facet of the sport from 'gen-pop' anymore. It is from a bygone area unfortunately and is reserved for a niche now.I don’t think you have all the facts straight....there is a few sports using the facility...is the sport dying due to no international events being held? The track can only be booked 2months in advanced...so planning quite difficult...
MORNE Posted July 26, 2019 Posted July 26, 2019 I don’t think you have all the facts straight....there is a few sports using the facility...is the sport dying due to no international events being held? The track can only be booked 2months in advanced...so planning quite difficult...its a purpose built banked-indoor-cycling-arena...everything else is using it because it has a roof and some open (limited) space inside.....a bandaid at most.
DJR Posted July 28, 2019 Posted July 28, 2019 its a purpose built banked-indoor-cycling-arena...everything else is using it because it has a roof and some open (limited) space inside.....a bandaid at most.It is extremely well suited for large gymnastics competitions........also a small sport in need of a large venue.........but it doesn't get used for that any more. Sadly.
gemmerbal Posted July 29, 2019 Posted July 29, 2019 I agree, it is iconic and what a sight it is! And I also agree that Newlands, albeit historic, is outdated and for all the reasons mentioned it has to eventually make way and we will see rugby being played at CTS. However, my view from day 1 was that it would have made more sense to build the new stadium but make it multipurpose, that is what I dont understand. this would also have counted MASSIVELY if SA ever again decided to tender for the Olympic Games [its not like they are going to use more land because then the athletics track next door would not have been necessary?] I dont know, sometimes things just dont seem to make sense to me. Or maybe im just too much of an optimist thinking that forward thinking is a possibility on the African Continent. To be fair that white stadium was built for a purpose and has now become part of the branding of CT with the skyline and all so from an urban design point of view id say it has definitely added value to the city in the eyes of many people. If you own property in that area you will definitely agree too. it is not just the white round thing anymore...it has become iconic to the area, and everything that went with it - contributed to uplifting the area.In anycase It will be used more once Newlands Rugby stadium gets kicked to the curb for (wait for it).....office developments There were plenty of reason why Newlands was not the best choice to upgrade...and they are all catching up to it now. Bluntly - it is outdated and crap.Zero access, outdated facilities...just plain a sucky experience all round when visiting it. Coming back to the Velodrome...Just because it's the ONLY indoor cycling venue in the city does not give it any more validity in my opinion. it is outdated, old and caters for only one thing really....a thing that is dying (if not already dead). If some billionaire cyclist went and donated R100mil to upgrade and uplift it....it will still not get used because there is just no interest in that facet of the sport from 'gen-pop' anymore. It is from a bygone area unfortunately and is reserved for a niche now.
DJR Posted July 29, 2019 Posted July 29, 2019 Agreed: Both the Velodrome and the Cape Town Stadium should have been designed to be multi-purpose stadiums. It would have made them much more viable long term. Sadly, it is too late to do anything about that now. Hopefully the City will learn from its' mistakes.........yes, we can always live in hope. B.t.w. Another dinosaur that needs demolition and re-development is the Goodhope Centre!
Shebeen Posted July 29, 2019 Author Posted July 29, 2019 Agreed: Both the Velodrome and the Cape Town Stadium should have been designed to be multi-purpose stadiums. It would have made them much more viable long term. Sadly, it is too late to do anything about that now. Hopefully the City will learn from its' mistakes.........yes, we can always live in hope. B.t.w. Another dinosaur that needs demolition and re-development is the Goodhope Centre!bizarrely it is currently paying for itself VERY nicely, who'd have thunk it?!https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Local/Peoples-Post/good-hope-centre-blossoms-20190603 CT stadium is an opportunity missed, BUT you have to remember that it was an incredibly rushed process (when it didn't need to be).People will remember it as Helen's baby, but she actually just took it over (and got it sorted, with reservations). In the final days of Mfeketo’s administration the city formally offered Green Point to Fifa. Blatter signed the acceptance, formally binding Cape Town to it, on March 15 2006, a day before the Fifa executive was to consider the offer. A possible explanation for Blatter’s haste: the Democratic Alliance’s Helen Zille replaced Mfeketo as mayor on the same day, March 15. and the bottom line, who actually paid for the stadium that the city now owns?For Cape Town the total R4,5-billion cost is made up of R200-million-plus from the province, R1,2-billion from the city, and more than R3-billion from the national government. https://mg.co.za/article/2010-04-30-cape-town-bullied-by-blatter-mbeki
DJR Posted July 29, 2019 Posted July 29, 2019 bizarrely it is currently paying for itself VERY nicely, who'd have thunk it?!https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Local/Peoples-Post/good-hope-centre-blossoms-20190603 .............Wow, I never would have thought that the Goodhope Centre would be good for anything other than a yearly Cinderella on Ice. Great that they found a good use for it! More movies......bring it on!
ChrisF Posted July 29, 2019 Posted July 29, 2019 Good Hope Centre is being used for the 2023 Netball world champs ... according to a news bulletin from the City of Cape Town, issued last week .... though the older web posts suggest it would be in the ICC .... let's see
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.