A relaid surface that will be more suitable for rugby, and scrumming in particular, is part of what the DHL Stormers can look forward to as they celebrate officially becoming the anchor tenant at DHL Stadium.
The end of what both parties, the Stormers company and the City of Cape Town, described as a tough negotiating process dating to 2019, when the heads of agreement were signed, was marked by a press conference at the stadium on Wednesday. The initial deal was not good for WP, and signed off by people no longer involved, and Rian Oberholzer, appointed as the Western Province administrator by SARU, has been working hard on making it more acceptable to the Stormers and the union.
It prompted the Cape Town Mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis, to joke that "a good deal is one where neither party is completely happy, so this is a good deal."
Oberholzer explained that by saying that there were a few areas where the two parties had had to meet halfway. However, he was adamant that the culmination of the negotiations had delivered an exciting new future for the Stormers and WP.
"This is a very exciting day for the Stormers and rugby in this region, and I am sure the terms of agreement will now go into a drawer and not be looked at again as I foresee everything operating smoothly," said Oberholzer.
The terms of the agreement give the Stormers/WP first option on the stadium when, for instance, the Hellenic football club, with whom the Stormers share the venue, have a clash of dates.
And the stadium CEO, Lesley de Reuck, confirmed that the stadium turf will be dug up in July and replaced by a half synthetic surface/half grass field that will please Stormers head coach John Dobson. The current stadium surface has not always been suitable for rugby and one of the big problems, dating back to the 2021 British and Irish Lions series, is a tendency for the ground to give way in set scrums.
“I must phone Frans Malhberbe and tell him, he will be delighted,” quipped Dobson.
According to De Reuck, the new surface will be ready by October.
“We are taking the gap that coincides with the Rugby World Cup in France. We will start work in July (the beginning of the new rugby offseason in South Africa) and the ground will be ready by the start of the new season in October,” said De Reuck.
“By relaying the surface we are opening the way for it to be used more. We have had a problem with the surface since it was used five weeks in a row when the British and Irish Lions were here. The stadium will continue to be a multi-sport stadium, but the Stormers will have first option as anchor tenants. With the new surface the stadium will be able to be used more regularly by all those who play out of here.
“The stadium has transformed over the past two years, and now boasts a busy and exciting calendar of events for the next few years. We welcome WP Rugby as our primary anchor tenant and look forward to creating value for the city of Cape Town and its residents in the future.”
The initial agreement is for a period of 39 years but there are two options for renewal, which will take the lease period to 99 years.
Hill-Lewis welcomed the signing by saying that a champion team deserves a champion stadium.
“We look forward to millions of Capetonians over the next few decades visiting what has already become a fortress for the Stormers, with an unbeaten sequence of 20 games, and which I hope will continue to be so,” said Hill-Lewis.
“I look forward to watching the Stormers take on the world from their new home. The agreement is good news for sport and tourism, and for the excellent facility which hosts world-class events all year round.”