Moses Mabhida Stadium

Moses Mabhida Stadium
Former names	Durban Stadium (During the 2010 FIFA World Cup)
Location	Masabalala Yengwa Ave, Stamford Hill, Durban, South Africa
Coordinates	29°49′44″S 31°01′49″E
Broke ground	2006
Opened	28 November 2009
Renovated	2009
Expanded	2009
Owner	eThekwini (Durban Metropolitan UniCity)
Surface	Grass
Construction cost	R 3.4 billion (US$ 450 million)
Architect	Gerkan, Marg and Partners Theunissen Jankowitz Durban, Ambro-Afrique Consultants, Osmond Lange Architects & Planners, NSM Designs, Mthulisi Msimang
Capacity	62,760 FIFA World Cup 54,000 afterwards 69,000 Cricket
Field dimensions	Stadium: 320m x 280m x 45m, Arches: 100m
Tenants
AmaZulu South Africa national cricket team [1]

The Moses Mabhida Stadium is a stadium in Durban, South Africa, named after Moses Mabhida, a former General Secretary of the South African Communist Party. It is a multi-use stadium.

It was one of the host stadiums for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The stadium has a capacity of 62,760 during the World Cup and 54,000 afterwards. The stadium is adjacent to the Kings Park Stadium, in the Kings Park Sporting Precinct, and the Durban street circuit used for the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport.

It includes a sports institute, and a transmodal transport station.^{[citation needed]}

Stadium specifics

Moses Mabhida Stadium under construction in April 2008.

Moses Mabhida Stadium under construction seven months later, in November 2008.

Moses Mabhida Stadium under construction in January 2009.

This newly built stadium is located on the grounds of the Kings Park Soccer Stadium, in the Durban sports precinct in the suburb of Stamford Hill. The stadium had the capacity to hold 62,760 spectators during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Its design allows the stadium seating to be adjusted; 54,000 for local matches or up to 80,000 for events such as the Olympic Games^{[citation needed]}. It has two permanent tiers of seating, a temporary third one has been added for the World Cup.

There are 150 corporate hospitality suites with 7,500 seats.

Dimensions

Stadium: 320m×280m×45m^{[citation needed]}

Arch

Somewhat reminiscent of the famous Wembley Stadium arch, a 350-metre (1,148 ft) long free and 105-metre (344 ft) high span arch holds up the roof of the stadium, the top of the arch rises to 106 metres (348 ft) above the pitch. The arch also represents the once divided nation coming together, inspired by the South African Flag. The arch consists of a 5×5m steel hollow box and weighs 2,600 tonnes. A funicular carries visitors from the north side of the stadium to a viewing platform at the top of the arch, offering a view over city and ocean. The south side features a 550-step adventure walk. On 24 February 2010 the world's largest swing opened at the stadium. The swing allows clients to jump off the 4th ladder rung and fall toward the pitch before being swung out in a 220-metre (720 ft) arc over the pitch.

Roof

Moses Mabhida Stadium roof consists of a 46,000 m² (500,000 sq ft), Teflon-coated, glass-fibre membrane which will produce a translucent glow when the stadium is lit. These are attached to the arch by 95mm diameter steel cables. The roof covers 88% of the seats.

Bowl

Around the perimeter, 1,750 columns and 216 raking beams provides the main support. Around the field, 900m of retaining walls stretches 8m high. A total of 1,780 pre-cast concrete seating panels creates the bowl form. There will be over 80,000 square metres (860,000 sq ft) of floor space within the stadium structure.^{[citation needed]}.

Façade

Over 100 columns surround the stadium. The height of the columns varies around the stadium, but the highest is 46m. In total 15,000 square metres (160,000 sq ft) of façade will surround the stadium. A total of 550 aluminium fins will fit between the main columns. Perforated metal sheeting will be placed between the aluminium fins, where required.^{[citation needed]}

Construction progress

Interior of stadium during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Date	Phase	Description	Status
2006-07-08	1	Demolition of existing stadium, southern pavilion.	Completed
2006-07-12	2	Demolition of existing stadium, northern pavilion.	Completed
2006-07-23	3	Demolition of existing stadium, main pavilion.	Completed
2007-04-01	4	Construction begins.	Completed
2008-03-20	5	Arch construction begins.	Completed
2009-01-13	5	Arch construction complete.	Completed
2009-01-01	6	Aluminum façade construction begins.	Completed
2009-08-01	7	Roof cable and membrane works begins.	Completed
2009-11-24		Official completion.	Completed

Completion

Construction of the stadium was officially completed on 24 November 2009 and the first official match played there was between Amazulu and Maritzburg United on 29 November, with Maritzburg United winning 1–0.

Major tournaments

2010 FIFA World Cup

The stadium was one of the venues for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and hosted five group games, one second round game and a semi-final match. During the World Cup, the stadium was referred to as "Durban Stadium."

Date	Time (UTC+2)	Team No. 1	Res.	Team No. 2	Round	Attendance
2010-06-13	20:30	Germany	4–0	Australia	Group D	62,660
2010-06-16	16:00	Spain	0–1	Switzerland	Group H	62,453
2010-06-19	13:30	Netherlands	1–0	Japan	Group E	62,010
2010-06-22	20:30	Nigeria	2–2	Korea Republic	Group B	61,874
2010-06-25	16:00	Brazil	0–0	Portugal	Group G	62,712
2010-06-28	16:00	Netherlands	2–1	Slovakia	Round of 16	61,962
2010-07-07	20:30	Germany	0–1	Spain	Semi-final	60,960

2013 African Cup of Nations

Moses Mabhiba Stadium will serve as one of the venues for the tournament. It will host the 4 group games, 1 quarter final and a semi final. The games are:

Date	Team No. 1	Res.	Team No. 2	Round	Attendance
2013-01-23	South Africa	2–0	Angola	Group A	50,000
2013-01-23	Cape Verde	0–0	Morocco	Group A	25,000
2013-01-27	South Africa	2–2	Morocco	Group A	45,000
2013-01-28	Congo DR	1–1	Mali	Group B	8,000
2013-02-02	South Africa	1–1 (1–3 pen.)	Mali	Quarter Final	45,000
2013-02-06	Mali	1–4	Nigeria	Semi Final	54,000

Local football

The stadium is the current home ground of Premier Soccer League team, AmaZulu. It also hosted the final of the 2010 MTN 8.

Cricket

The stadium hosted a Twenty20 cricket match between South Africa and India on 9 January 2011. The match was played for the Krish Mackerdhuj Trophy, which India won by 21 runs. The stadium witnessed biggest ever crowd for a cricket match on the African continent, which was followed by a concert to celebrate South Africa-India ties (see below). It may open up a new opportunity for the stadium to further host cricket matches in the future.

Concerts/Events

A live musical concert was held to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the arrival of Indians to South Africa following the T20 cricket match held on 9 January 2011. Some of the Bollywood stars included Sharukh Khan & Anil Kapoor.

Neil Diamond performed in Durban at the Moses Mabhida Stadium as part of his first ever tour across South Africa on 5 April 2011.

The American singer Chris Brown performed at the stadium on December 17,2012 during his Carpe Diem Tour. It was his first concert in the city.

The 2012 Top Gear Festival held in Durban included stadium shows at Moses Mabhida Stadium and other motoring events in the surrounding areas from 16–17 June.

External links

• City World Cup Site
• Stadium website
• http://www.bigrush.co.za
• 360 degree Virtual Tour of Moses Mabhida Stadium (6 locations)
• 360 View
• Kirigami model of Durban stadium