SAFA challenges Cape Town's mixed-use development at Athlone Stadium

The City of Cape Town’s proposed mixed-use development at Athlone Stadium has drawn widespread concern from across the metro.

The City opened a formal public participation process, which closed on July 7, seeking comment on its proposal to dispose of part of the stadium’s parking area along Klipfontein Road.

The Economic Growth Directorate has proposed a phased development incorporating commercial and retail components to revitalise the precinct. 

It is part of the City’s broader long-term vision to upgrade the Athlone Stadium precinct in future into a vibrant hub that attracts more investment and benefits the community.

The South African Football Association (SAFA) Cape Town has strongly opposed the plan. Its president, Bennet Bailey, said the City should focus its efforts elsewhere.

“This is our Wembley. People from Mitchell’s Plain, Gugulethu, Khayelitsha, Hanover Park and many other areas have a history of this stadium,” he said.

“If the City has such energy, fix it to international standards. It must use its energy to clean up the vagrants along the Klipfontein corridor. People from Gugulethu and Hanover Park used to walk to the stadium, but today they can’t due to the risk of robbery by vagrants. Make it safe,” said Mr Bailey.

He said the proposal, if implemented, would prevent the stadium from ever hosting international matches and would result in the effective downgrading of the venue. “Rather than trying to build houses and shops on the parking lot, the City should be helping to fix the stadium to an international stadium,” he said.

In a statement, the City said the proposal was part of a broader long-term plan to redevelop the Athlone Stadium precinct. It said the mixed-use development on the parking area aimed to promote socio-economic development.

“The proposed development aims to incorporate retail, commercial, and business components, and is expected to stimulate economic activity, create employment opportunities, and enhance socio-economic development within the district,” the City said.

It said the stadium’s central location and access to main public transport routes made it suitable for such opportunities.

Mr Bailey said the stadium represents more than just a sporting venue. “Athlone Stadium is more than just concrete and grass. It is a living monument to the resilience, aspirations, and collective memory of communities long marginalised by apartheid spatial planning,” he said.

He described the proposal as an attack on the cultural and historical significance of the space.

“The stadium sits at the heart of Athlone, a community forged in the crucible of forced removals and systemic exclusion. To tamper with this space, under the guise of so-called ‘mixed-use development,’ is to strike at the cultural and historical core of the Cape Flats,” he said.

Mr Bailey said SAFA Cape Town found it regrettable that it was forced to challenge the City on the stadium’s survival, instead of discussing upgrades or attracting events.

“Rather than discussing ways to attract international events or expanding the economic opportunities along the Klipfontein corridor, the custodians of soccer are forced to resist a move that effectively renders the stadium obsolete through the destruction of its main parking facility,” he said.

He criticised the motivations behind the proposal.

“It is some bureaucrats that are behind, whose children are living in leafy suburbs with good facilities. Bureaucracy works for bonuses, that we know. This is just to destroy the history of this stadium. There is a lot of history of this stadium. They have destroyed Masiphumelele, Kraaifontein and one field in Heideveld for Sunday league. Now they resort to this one. It will not happen while we live. It should stop and be stopped,” said Mr Bailey.