With details of an alleged sale being kept under wraps, it is still unclear what will become of the historic Newlands Rugby Stadium.
This comes after media claims that the venue has been sold to an unidentified buyer, with the voting approval of the Western Province Rugby Football Union (WPRFU).
The stadium, which was once at the heart of rugby in Cape Town, has gone into total neglect over the last four years, with speculation that it would be redeveloped into a residential and office space.
However, WPRFU administrator Peter Jooste has slammed rumours of the alleged sale as ‘fake’ news.
He said as the person dealing with the sale, he has not discussed it with any members of the media.
“Whoever writes that, it's fake news, it's absolutely nothing. That is something that they suck out of their thumb because not me, that's dealing with it, spoke to anybody in the press about it,” he said yesterday.
Two tears ago, WPRFU announced that the Newlands Rugby Stadium was to be placed on the market in a sealed bidding process.
Interested parties could request details of the property and the terms and conditions of the bidding process from Galetti (Pty) Limited.
The deadline for submission of non-binding offers was on 15 April 2022, while submission of final binding offers was on 31 May 2022 .
WPRFU hoped that a sale could be concluded by 7 June 2022, but this wouldn’t materialise, as the union in 2023 again revealed that the sale of Newlands Stadium remains crucial to the future sustainability of WP Rugby.
All of Western Province Rugby's professional teams moved to DHL Stadium in 2021.
The Newlands development will have a direct impact on locals during the massive site's construction as well as afterwards, according to the Newlands Residents Association (NRA).
The association's Clare Burgess said the other concern is the impact on the environment.
“The site is adjacent to the Liesbeek River and the Liesbeek River Trail which utilises public open space along the river banks and great care must be taken to prevent damage or pollution of the river and its clean water,” she said.
Local councillor, Mikhail Manuel, claimed that the community wants the stadium to be redeveloped as soon as possible.
He said the neighbourhood surrounding the stadium has become quieter and less secure.
The City directed queries to the property owners, stating that it is not associated with the sale.