SPECIAL REPORT:

LOFTUS VERSFELD STADIUM

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AN AIR OF DISTINCTION By Bev Hermanson

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It was in 1999 that spectators at the Loftus

Versfeld Stadium witnessed Bafana Banfana,

South Africa’s national team, play a soccer

game against Sweden. As one of the venues

that hosted matches of the 2010 FIFA World

Cup, Loftus Versveld gave its spectators the

opportunity once again to witness Bafana

Bafana play another game of soccer when

they played against Uruguay at the stadium.

The Loftus Versfeld Stadium has a lot of character,

it has history and it has a sense of place. Situated

in Tshwane, Pretoria, the stadium is located within

a very dense and urban fabric, making it part of

the city. It is not isolated from the city as some of

the other stadiums are, which makes it unique. “It

is not just a stadium, but it is a buzz of activities.

It has a vibe,” says Bhavik Ranchod, architect and

project manager, The Creative Axis Architects.

ONE OF THE OLDEST STADIUMS

Loftus Versfeld Stadium is one of the oldest stadi-

ums in South Africa. This all-seater stadium has

been used for major sporting events since 1903, in-

cluding significant matches which were part of the

1995 Rugby World Cup and the 1996 CAF African

Cup of Nations. Hosting countless rugby and soccer

matches, this stadium is no stranger to these

sports. Loftus Versfeld Stadium is the home ground

of the Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club, one of

South Africa’s premiere professional clubs, and Super-

sport United. It is also home to one of the country’s

top rugby teams, the Blue Bulls.

The stadium’s first concrete structure, built by the

City Council of Pretoria in 1923, could only accom-

modate two thousand spectators. Since 1948, Loftus

Versfeld has undergone constant upgrades and

renovations and its four main stands have been

completely rebuilt.

LOFTUS SPECTATORS WITNESSED ANOTHER BAFANA BAFANA GAME By Stacey Rowan

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UPGRADING THE OLD TO MAKE IT NEW

The most recent renovation at Loftus was the 2010

FIFA World Cup facelift. To qualify for selection as a

South African 2010 host stadium and a venue for

the World Cup, the stadium was upgraded to meet

the stringent requirements specified by FIFA.

“The stadium is owned by The Blue Bulls Company

(Pty) Ltd, whereby other stadiums are owned either

by municipalities or the government. Being an old

stadium, it required various upgrades in order to

make the stadium FIFA complaint. Unlike other

newly built stadiums, this project only involved an

upgrade,” adds Ranchod.

The brief entailed an upgrade that included basic ad-

ditions and a refurbishment. The floodlights were

upgraded and a new roof over the eastern pavilion was

built, which now houses a new set of flood lights,

adding to the aesthetics of the stadium. Another

upgrade included the implementation of back-up

power, through the use of generators. “During the

matches, the stadium will run off generators, elimi-

nating the risk of power failures,” says Ranchod.

The scoreboard, players’ change rooms and sound

system were also upgraded to meet FIFA’s specifi-

cations and designated media areas were con-

structed in the lower level of the west stand. With

an estimated seat capacity of 49 215 seats, the task

of replacing each seat was challenging. “The newly

placed bright blue seats, which are plastered every-

where, stand out,” says Ranchod. A new lift on the

north-west corner of the stadium was added, to-

gether with the placement of a new ring of turn-

stiles that are located around the stadium. The IT

systems were also upgraded which allowed for dig-

ital access control and the pitch was restored,

among other minor upgrades that occurred.

In addition, a new walkway was built on the eastern

side of the stadium, which allowed for more than

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There’s nothing quite like the plush look and feel of exclusive packaging to elevate a brand to be a cut above the rest. The aura of luxury imparted by leathers, suedes, specially treated papers, heavy flocks and woven textiles can make an emphatic difference to the positioning of a brand in the marketplace.

AN AIR OF DISTINCTION By Bev Hermanson

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50% of the stadiums’ spectators to come through

the east side. This entrance was also designed to

double up as an essential access for emergency ve-

hicles. The walkway was, and still is, seen as a

means of knitting the precinct together with both

the transport and bus routes, as well as the jam-

packed social area of Hatfield. With the walkway

being designed around a classic park-like approach,

it made the stadium upgrade, as a whole, serve as

a dynamic rendition to the list of landmarks already

defining the city.

Other upgrades included the refurbishment of the

board hall area, new toilet blocks were introduced

and the VIP areas on the main pavilion were up-

graded. The key entrances as well as ablution fa-

cilities situated around the stadium were renovat-

ed, which gave the stadium a fresh new look.

THE STADIUM THAT NEVER SLEEPS

The Loftus Versfeld Stadium was different from

most of the other 2010 FIFA stadiums as it was a

working stadium, with matches that were played on

an ongoing basis during the construction phase.

“We faced enormous challenges in that we needed

to take health and safety into consideration, mak-

ing sure that no spectators or players were hurt.

Even though Loftus Versfeld was a ‘living’ stadium

at the time of the construction period, no incidents

occurred.

Having the smallest budget of all the 2010 stadiums

was another challenge for the project team. “We

did not have the freedom to do what we wished ar-

chitecturally due to our limited budget and there-

fore we could not make an architectural statement,”

explains Ranchod.

Keeping within the stadium’s surroundings was

also a challenge that was faced, yet accomplished.

“We had to tie the stadium into what was already

there, keep within the heritage of the stadium and

not allow our construction activities to disturb the

outside area.” The stadium maintained interaction

with the city, which was vital.

During the upgrade, the project team maintained

eco-friendliness. Some of the eco-friendly methods

used included the use of energy efficient products

for lighting and placement of eco-friendly flooring

like bamboo finished floors and certain eco-friendly

carpets. “We tried to make the stadium eco-friendly

where we could.”

A MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT

“The fully operational stadium can be considered a

mixed-use development as it houses more than 300

offices, a conference venue, an auditorium, change

rooms for the players, many suites and skyboxes,”

says Ranchod. According to the client’s brief and

the Blue Bulls Management Agency, the stadium

had to be of benefit to the owners as a future-use

development, after the 2010 World Cup.

“The Loftus Versfeld Stadium proved to be a reward-

ing project upon completion. With the basic infra-

structure improved, it is now a FIFA-compliant stadium

and we are proud to say that the FIFA affiliates are

satisfied with the stadium,” concludes Ranchod. <

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