National Stadium closes for P45m upgrade
Mqondisi Dube | Friday January 15, 2016 14:07
The stadium will be closed before the end the month to allow work to begin. South African company, Murray & Roberts has won the tender to carry out the work which will see the north and south stands joined together.
The additional stands will take the stadium’s seating capacity from 22,500 to 25,000.
Efforts to get a comment from the Ministry of Infrastructure, Science and Technology as well as the Botswana National Sport Commission chief executive officer, Falcon Sedimo, proved futile at press time. The National Stadium was closed for a major upgrade in 2008 with the 2010 World Cup in South Africa in mind.
However, protracted contractual delays meant that the stadium was only re-opened in 2013. The latest development will hit football hard as the UB Stadium is currently unavailable and teams mostly utilise the Molepolole Sports Complex, 50 kilometres away from Gaborone. The Botswana Football Association (BFA) chief executive officer, Kitso Kemoeng said they were aware of the pending refurbishments and closure. Mmegi Sport could not ascertain the length of the project and closure of the stadium.