Bay Stadium events calendar filling up as development plans take shape
By Anele Qaba, CEO, MBDA
With the first quarter of our financial year done, ie, July to August, we’re starting to see the fruits of a concerted and proactive approach to getting the iconic Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, the city’s pride, humming again. The improving events calendar and development initiatives taking shape at the Bay Stadium is what the city needs. The measure of success for multipurpose facilities like the Bay Stadium is not only through what is collected at the tills, but also about the stimulus effect they have on the economy. The events economy is mainly a downstream value creator, meaning the impact is seen through economic activity and incomes generated.
When 40 000 spectators fill the Bay Stadium, with a quarter having travelled from across the province and country, those fans must sleep somewhere. They go out for entertainment, they shop, they also visit places of interest and, most importantly, they help to sustain jobs in the tourism and hospitality sector. This economic impact model is the driving force behind several initiatives that we are now fully implementing. Earlier this year, we indicated that we had commissioned a pre-feasibility and business plan to activate additional tourism products in and around the North End Lake and stadium grounds. We are now able to report on these exciting initiatives on the progress we have made to date. The overarching objective for developing additional tourism products around the lake and stadium grounds is to incentivise visitors and leverage the growing events calendar, while generating sufficient financial value to keep these initiatives sustainable.
Starting with the bulging events calendar, to date, the Bay Stadium hosted multiple non-bowl and inner-bowl events, specifically focusing on seminars, workshops, conferences, music events, high-end celebrations as well as on-field competitive football games.
Working with the South African Football Association, the financial year started off on a solid footing, having hosted seven official COSAFA CUP games, including the final, which was eventually won by the Angolan national team.
The stadium’s longest anchor tenant, Chippa United, hosted the launch of their Betway Premiership campaign from the newly revamped Bay Stadium state-of-the art press conference room. And, as fate would have it, Chippa United ushered in a new era with a pulsating 2-1 victory against Mpumalanga-based outfit, TS Galaxy.
The big news that broke in the latter part of September was the announcement we made regarding the successful pitch to host the next Bafana Bafana crucial AFCON qualifier against Congo Brazzaville on 11 October 2024. Bafana Bafana make a welcome return to Gqeberha since their last encounter against Sao Tome and Principe on 16 November 2020. This game brings about direct commercial revenue streams that will contribute to the facility’s bottom line as well as positive downstream economic spin-offs for the city, specifically in the tourism and hospitality sectors.
In pursuing an economic boosting events calendar, we also took a proactive approach to initiate and take charge of our own events. The province is positioned as the home of legends, and there is no other facility in the region more fitting than the Bay Stadium. The MBDA has initiated the inaugural Nelson Mandela Bay Home of Legends Cup aimed to be an annual showcase of African arts, culture and primarily focusing on the best football. This new iconic event will take place at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in November 2024. The Home of Legends Cup is an MBDA propriety event and an initiative that has been long in the making in terms of increasing the profile of football in the region.
This tournament is scheduled for 16 November 2024 and will showcase the finest Premier Soccer League clubs in country, which are Kaizer Chiefs Football Club, Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club, Chippa United Football Club and Lamontville Golden Arrows Football Club.
With the teams secured, we are now working hard to finalise plans to unleash an arts and culture component to showcase the best in local talent and expose their repertoire on a national stadium and platform in front of a packed Bay Stadium.
In addition to the Home of Legends Cup, we did not take our eyes off the other important bowl sport, rugby. After months of planning, lobbying and pushing, we finally secured one of the most anticipated international rugby tournaments, the Investec Champions Cup, where the DHL Stormers will face France's RC Toulon on 7 December at the Bay Stadium. We are confident that this tournament will get a sold-out crowd as we have observed encouraging interest from partners all around. To grow our rugby portfolio, we are in discussions with various national rugby franchises as well at the national federation to bring back national Springboks fixtures back to the Bay on a continuous basis. We are confident that soon we will witness the Boks back at the Bay Stadium, a venue they have never lost in.
In addition to the events calendar, management has received the first draft presentation of the business plan for new initiatives and tourism products. The plan looks at the feasibility of establishing jetty in the North End Lake, securing a small vessel to run boat tours, a sports hero’s acres to complement the museum a sporting academy and boutique hotel. The interim business plan indicates that there is a gap in the market for these initiatives with careful prioritisation and planning. We will engage with the city and stakeholders on this plan, and we look forward to taking steps towards implementation before the end of the year.
* This press release first appeared in The Herald newspaper on Friday, 4 October.