An aerial view of Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium which is under repairs. Engineers have found the walls and pillars to be cracking in several areas and have begun fixing them to ensure the stadium is safe for use. File Picture: Brian Spurr
Durban - Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium is crumbling, with cracks on the roof, pillars and walls requiring urgent repairs that could cost eThekwini Municipality millions to ensure the stadium is safe for use.
The extent of decay on the 13-year-old stadium has forced some tenants to move out as it was deemed unsafe for them to continue operating there. Some sections of the R3.4 billion 2010 World Cup facility have since been repaired, particularly the roof, while some sections of the stadium have been demolished and were in the process of being rebuilt.
The Sunday Tribune has established through several sources within the city that senior municipal engineers made the assessments and advised on repairs to be undertaken.
The Moses Mabhida Stadium was designed and constructed by Aecom, an American construction engineering company. According to the company’s records on its website, it operated the stadium for three years until 2013, when it handed it over to the municipality.
The company stated that following three successful years of operation, including a detailed operations manual and a fully-trained team of staff who knew the facility inside out, it handed it over to the city.
It was unclear if there were any guarantees given by the company. A source, who did not want to be named, said the worrying issue, as pointed out by the engineers, was the conflict between the type of material that was used on the stadium – metal and concrete, which were not “co-operating with each other”.
The source also revealed that there were issues with the pressure points of the stadiums, which were not stable. “The engineers pointed out many points where the cracks started to show and needed urgent attention before something happened,” said the source.
“In December, a contractor was working inside the stadium to address some of the concerns. “The other issues were the pressure points of the stadium that are not stable. Some sections had been demolished to add more pillars to support the structure.”
Cuba Lounge – one of the tenants at the stadium – had to move out to allow for the repairs. While the eatery still operates within the premises of the stadium, it has put up a makeshift structure on the north side of the facility. The glass doors of the venue were covered with black plastic inside, blocking visibility from the outside.
During a visit to the stadium this week, the section had been demolished, with rubble inside showing that construction was under way. However, there were no contractors on site.
It could not be established if there were any events taking place there in the coming weeks and months as the municipality did not respond to questions. An employee who works in the stadium, but cannot be named as he is not allowed to talk to the media, said because of the weakening of the pressure points, the sides had severely cracked.
He said the area was demolished to put in other pillars to support the wide space that was supposedly failing to properly bear the weight of the concrete roof, which resulted in the cracks. He further revealed that other serious structural repairs were needed. He said that some parts of the stadium leaked when it rained, and there were many faults all around, including the Sky Car – which has not been working since 2017.
“The stadium is decaying. There are many areas that leak and cracks that need to be repaired. “The Cuba Lounge had to move away because it was no longer safe for the patrons and the owners, and it is not clear when this place will be ready for business. “There was a major upgrade to the concrete slabs above where the lounge was located.
If you look around, you will see that part of the concrete roof has been replaced,” said the employee. After the 2010 World Cup, the has been replaced,” said the employee.
After the 2010 World Cup, the 60000-seat multi-purpose stadium was said to be the most profitable and busiest in the country. The stadium, which has become part of Durban’s skyline, has hosted hundreds of events, including rallies and sporting, music, and general events.
It also has conference centres, a gym and other outlets occupied by small businesses. While it was said to be profitable, the opposition party in eThekwini, the DA, has been critical of stadium operations and asked for an equitable plan to maintain and sustain the facility.
The DA has sent questions to the stadium’s management asking about the cost, revenue and state of the stadium and did an oversight visit in December to establish the severity of the decay and work to be undertaken.
Nicole Bollman, DA whip community services, confirmed that the city’s engineers had pointed out the faults and cracks that needed repairing. “We will be sending a long list of questions to the community service committee responsible for the stadium. “At this stage, we are focusing on establishing the financial implications,” she said.
Msawakhe Mayisela, eThekwini Municipality Spokesperson, said the city needed more time to respond to the long list of questions sent by this newspaper regarding the state of the stadium. He said that some of the officials who were involved were no longer in the employ of the city, and some of the responses needed to be investigated.
“The city appeals to be given sufficient time to respond to all the questions about the stadium. Some of the employees have left the city and getting all the responses will require some time. Once all the information has been gathered, we will respond,” he said
SUNDAY TRIBUNE