Cape rugby fans can start saying goodbye to Newlands Rugby Stadium.
This after Western Province Rugby Union president Thelo Wakefield on Tuesday confirmed that they will be moving to Cape Town Stadium, depending on the City of Cape Town.
The move that will see the Stormers and Western Province switch homes is eyed to take place in 2021.
Wakefield says on Phaka: “The curtain will come down on Newlands.
“Let me make it abundantly clear that no property of [WP] – whether it be a house, or Brookside, or Oranjezicht, Newlands, wherever, will be sold.
“We will never sell off our properties, we will develop it. These properties have been lying there, and brought no money into the union.
“Now we’re saying, ‘Why don’t we develop Brookside, Newlands?’
“It is a fact that we will move across to the Cape Town Stadium.
"The process is such that I have signed a heads of agreement with the City Council. The City has appointed a commission to investigate the matter of rugby coming to the Cape Town Stadium.
“A full council meeting will be held at the end of October.
"At that meeting, the City will say it’s either yes for Western Province, or no for Western Province. If it is yes, we will move to the Cape Town Stadium for many reasons.
“First of all, we don’t need to maintain Newlands anymore. Secondly, it is a world-class stadium.
“We will develop Newlands into a business entity.
"We are consulting with various developers. Stormers and Western Province will play at Cape Town Stadium. It would’ve been 2020, but with the City Council dragging their feet, we will now look at 2021, when we will move there.”