Samples Of Bucket Seats Expected Soon As Renovations At Rufaro Stadium Gain Momentum
Renovations at Rufaro Stadium have gained momentum and are expected to be completed by next month following delays caused by corruption.
Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume and Premier Soccer League Chairman Farai Jere toured the facility to assess the progress and set new timelines.
The stadium was initially scheduled to reopen before the start of the season in March but was delayed until the end of April. However, Mafume disclosed that corruption within the council hindered progress. The Herald quotes the Mayor as saying:
Old habits in procurement. People want to buy the most expensive things. Whenever a project like this is started they try to alert their relatives and their relatives start forming companies to make these things and you will be shocked by the prices. So we have cut that red tape. If you want irrigation equipment you know where to buy that, if you want cement you know there is Circle Cement and that cement and so forth.
It’s like there is a looting committee that was created at some place and that looting committee is very difficult to cut through because it’s agenda is to loot. So it is the behaviour of the people that has sort of delayed our finishing timelines. But we have pushed day and night and I am happy to see the progress and I am dead sure that by the end of this month that we will be sitting in this stadium cheering our teams to our hearts’ content.
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Rufaro Stadium has been condemned multiple times due to lack of maintenance, but there is renewed hope as the City of Harare has taken on the task of restoring it. The pitch has shown visible improvement, and the parking area, perimeter wall, and shopping complex are also being renovated.
The local stadium inspectors, including members from PSL and ZIFA, have made extensive recommendations for the stadium to meet CAF and FIFA standards. These include improving the playing surface, perimeter support structures, drainage systems, ablution facilities, dressing rooms, and facilities for the physically challenged. They also recommend installing bucket seats, direction signs, standard doping rooms, a medical facility, press rooms, television camera points, and modern electronic turnstiles.
Mafume expressed satisfaction with the progress made on Rufaro Stadium, saying that they have conducted soil tests and installed new soil to improve the playing surface, which will have a pop-up irrigation system. They have also painted the seats and numbered them, allowing teams to sell season, half-season, and quarter-season tickets.
The changing rooms have been expanded, and each will have 15 to 18 showers, with individual lockers for players. A B-Arena will be constructed outside with the same turf as the main pitch, which will be used for practice sessions and will contain small-to-medium shops, creating a multi-purpose facility. Samples of the bucket seats are expected to be delivered soon to begin the process of ordering them.
