Misplaced Pages

EPRU Stadium

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
#352647

100-619: EPRU Stadium , also known by its original name of Boet Erasmus Stadium , was a stadium in Port Elizabeth , South Africa . The letters "EPRU" in the name represent the Eastern Province Rugby Union, the stadium's historic primary tenants, whose team is now known as the Mighty Elephants . The original name Boet Erasmus Stadium was named after Boet Erasmus, a former mayor of Port Elizabeth . It had

200-539: A tensegrity structure . But, in the context of sports stadiums, the term "dome" has become standard for all covered stadiums, particularly because the first such enclosed stadium, the Houston Astrodome , was built with an actual dome-shaped roof. Some stadiums have partial roofs, and a few have even been designed to have moveable fields as part of the infrastructure. The Caesars Superdome in New Orleans

300-568: A Roman track of such length. Most dictionaries provide for both stadiums and stadia as valid English plurals. The oldest known stadium is the Stadium at Olympia in Greece, where the ancient Olympic Games were held from 776 BC. Initially the Games consisted of a single event, a sprint along the length of the stadium. Greek and Roman stadiums have been found in numerous ancient cities, perhaps

400-429: A South African legends team. The Brazilian legends were drawn from their 1994 FIFA World Cup winning squad. The South African team was drawn from the 1996 African Cup of Nations winners. On 14 November 2009, the stadium hosted its first international soccer match. A friendly between Bafana Bafana and Japan was played at the stadium. A crowd of 44,000 watched as the game ended in a 0–0 draw. On 20 November 2009,

500-576: A brand new, multipurpose stadium. Inevitably, there was a great deal of speculation about the status of stadium construction in the run-up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, with the requirement that all the FIFA World Cup host stadiums had to be completed by January 2010. The Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium was the first of five new stadiums to start construction. The other new stadiums are in Cape Town , Durban , Polokwane and Nelspruit . The stadium

600-513: A capacity of 33,852 people and served primarily as a venue for rugby union matches but also hosted a number of association football (soccer) fixtures. The stadium closed in 2010 and was demolished in 2019. On 6 March 2007, Irish vocal pop band Westlife held a concert during The Love Tour , in-support of their record, The Love Album . French Canadian singer Céline Dion performed for over 17,000 people on 27 February 2008 during her Taking Chances World Tour . Boet Erasmus stadium

700-480: A cost of £150 and 12 turnstiles were installed at a cost of £7 each. The stadium was officially opened on 24 August 1892 by Lord Kinnaird and Frederick Wall of the Football Association. No football was played; instead the 12,000 crowd watched a short track and field event followed by music and a fireworks display. Upon its completion the stadium was the first joint purpose-built football stadium in

800-405: A few municipally owned stadiums, which are often known by a name that is significant to their area (for example, Boston 's Fenway Park ). In recent years, some government-owned stadiums have also been subject to naming-rights agreements, with some or all of the revenue often going to the team(s) that play there. One consequence of corporate naming has been an increase in stadium name changes, when

900-472: A few years, and none survive today. Goodison Park was the first purpose-built association football stadium in the world. Walton -based building firm Kelly brothers were instructed to erect two uncovered stands that could each accommodate 4,000 spectators. A third covered stand accommodating 3,000 spectators was also requested. Everton officials were impressed with the builder's workmanship and agreed two further contracts: exterior hoardings were constructed at

1000-403: A football pitch with a running track , although certain compromises must be made. The major drawback is that the stands are necessarily set back a good distance from the pitch, especially at the ends of the pitch. In the case of some smaller stadiums, there are not stands at the ends. When there are stands all the way around, the stadium takes on an oval shape. When one end is open, the stadium has

1100-461: A given historical context it may actually signify a length up to 15% larger or smaller. The equivalent Roman measure, the stadium , had a similar length – about 185 m (607 ft) – but instead of being defined in feet was defined using the Roman standard passus to be a distance of 125 passūs (double-paces). The English use of stadium comes from the tiered infrastructure surrounding

SECTION 10

#1732780295353

1200-471: A horseshoe shape. All three configurations (open, oval and horseshoe) are common, especially in the case of American college football stadiums. Rectangular stadiums are more common in Europe, especially for football where many stadiums have four often distinct and very different stands on the four sides of the stadium. These are often all of different sizes and designs and have been erected at different periods in

1300-522: A single sport while others can accommodate different events, particularly ones with retractable seating . Stadiums built specifically for association football are common in Europe; Gaelic games stadiums, such as Croke Park , are common in Ireland, while stadiums built specifically for baseball or American football are common in the United States. The most common multiple use design combines

1400-687: A venue for Everton F.C. ). In the U.S., many professional baseball teams built large stadiums mainly out of wood , with the first such venue being the South End Grounds in Boston , opened in 1871 for the team then known as the Boston Beaneaters (now the Atlanta Braves ). Many of these parks caught fire, and those that did not proved inadequate for a growing game. All of the 19th-century wooden parks were replaced, some after

1500-610: Is 21,000 m and the material excavated is 138,000 m . The local building industry has benefitted a great deal due to the construction of the stadium. The implementation of this huge, fast track project has introduced several local role players to a new scale of development which will be beneficial to the local construction industry now and the future. The construction process has also included extensive use of local suppliers and experts in conjunction with international specialists, ensuring that adequate skills transfer take place. An estimated total of 6,800 jobs were created throughout

1600-680: Is a true dome structure made of a lamellar multi-ringed frame and has a diameter of 680 feet (210 m). It is the largest fixed domed structure in the world. Even though enclosed, dome stadiums are called stadiums because they are large enough for, and designed for, what are generally considered to be outdoor sports such as athletics, American football , association football , rugby , and baseball . Those designed for what are usually indoor sports like basketball, ice hockey and volleyball are generally called arenas . Exceptions include: Different sports require different playing surfaces of various size and shape. Some stadiums are designed primarily for

1700-399: Is approximately 40m high and consists of six levels on the western side in addition to five on each of the north, south and east stands. The main architecture was handled by Architectural Design Associates(Pty)Ltd and Dominic Bonnesse Architects cc. The stadium has three gates for entry, located on the northern, southern and eastern sides of the stadium, the western side of the stadium leads to

1800-554: Is less of a problem and replaced seats are less noticeable. The stadium boasts 49 hospitality suites, two business lounges, a gymnasium, and lecture and function rooms. There are also two conference rooms situated on the first level, which are able to accommodate 200 people. There are four ramps for easy wheelchair access, three VIP/VVIP lifts, two in the West Stand and one in the East Stand, as well as four service lifts, two on

1900-510: Is named after the administrative district in which the stadium is located, the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality , itself named after Nelson Mandela (1918–2013), the former President of South Africa . The Nelson Mandela Bay area is made up of the city of Port Elizabeth , the towns of Uitenhage and Despatch , as well as smaller settlements. The stadium is sometimes incorrectly called

2000-528: Is often cited as the first modern seater stadium, at least in the UK. Designed by the engineer J.J. Webster and completed in 10 months by George Wimpey , on the site of the Franco-British Exhibition , this stadium with a seating capacity of 68,000 was opened by King Edward VII on 27 April 1908. Upon completion, the stadium had a running track 24 ft wide (7.3 m) and three laps to

2100-733: Is the Nippon Professional Baseball league of Japan, in which many of the teams are themselves named after their parent corporations. Also, many newer European football stadiums, such as the University of Bolton and Emirates Stadiums in England and Signal Iduna Park and Allianz Arena in Germany have been corporately named. This new trend in corporate naming (or renaming) is distinguishable from names of some older venues, such as Crosley Field , Wrigley Field , and

SECTION 20

#1732780295353

2200-482: Is used to ensure that all grass on the pitch grows properly. A unit with 6 1,000 watt bulbs is used to help certain parts of the pitch covered by shadow due to the stadium roof. For soccer, the field is marked at the FIFA approved dimensions of 105m by 68m. For rugby the field is marked at 100 m long by 70 m wide, it also has two 10 m by 70 m 'in-goal areas' behind the posts. The stadium's construction

2300-422: The 1974 British Lions tour to South Africa , one of the most violent matches in rugby history was dubbed the "Battle of Boet Erasmus Stadium". After a 99 call by Lions, there is famous video footage of J.P.R. Williams running over half of the pitch and launching himself at Moaner van Heerden , something that Williams says he is not proud of. Gordon Brown hit his opposite number, Johan de Bruyn , so hard that

2400-478: The 2010 FIFA World Cup , the field was made up completely of rye grass. Following the World Cup, a Desso GrassMaster system was installed, due to the high workload of hosting both soccer and rugby matches. The field was designed to be able to accommodate both soccer and rugby. The pitch is maintained by a group of 5 people, who work day and night to ensure the quality of the playing surface. A lighting system

2500-447: The 2010 FIFA World Cup . It regularly hosts large-scale rugby union and soccer matches. The stadium has also been used as a concert venue. The city of Port Elizabeth did not have a large-scale soccer facility, as under the apartheid government, soccer was not given much funding. Soccer clubs in the city had to make use of smaller scale venues throughout the city. Before this stadium was built, most large soccer matches were played at

2600-411: The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations tournament. It hosted 6 group games as well as a quarterfinal and the 3rd/4th playoff. The Nelson Mandela Bay regional branch of SAFA is headquartered at the stadium, having moved from Gelvandale. The stadium is also the home of Premier Soccer League club, Chippa United F.C. , which moved to the stadium for the 2014–15 season. On 4 July 2009, the stadium hosted

2700-609: The 2017 edition . However, the Libyan Civil War in 2011 led that country , which initially won 2013 hosting rights, to swap dates with South Africa. The stadium would also be used in future bids for South Africa to host the Rugby World Cup . The stadium is located along the city's new BRT network. Currently, the dedicated lanes for the buses have been built. Once completed, the BRT buses will ferry people to and from

2800-794: The Allianz Arena in Munich was called the FIFA World Cup Stadium, Munich during the tournament. Likewise, the same stadium will be known as the "München Arena" during the European Competitions. Similar rules affect the Imtech Arena and Veltins-Arena . This rule applies even if the stadium sponsor is an official FIFA sponsor—the Johannesburg stadium then commercially known as "Coca-Cola Park", bearing

2900-578: The EPRU Stadium , the city's rugby ground. The EPRU Stadium was often problematic for soccer, as it normally hosts rugby matches, thus the playing surface was not of a great standard. When Port Elizabeth was chosen as a host city for the 2010 FIFA World Cup , the city decided against upgrading the EPRU Stadium. This was because it would have needed to be almost completely rebuilt in order to meet FIFA requirements. The city then decided on building

3000-546: The Eastern Cape province of South Africa . It hosted 2010 FIFA World Cup matches, including the third-place play off. It is the home of Chippa United Football Club and formerly of rugby union team Southern Kings . The five-tier, R 2 billion (approximately $ 159 million) Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium was built overlooking the North End Lake, at the heart of the city, one of three coastal stadiums built to host

3100-636: The Lansdowne Rugby Football Club – colours red, black and yellow." Some 300 cartloads of soil from a trench beneath the railway were used to raise the ground, allowing Dunlop to use his engineering expertise to create a pitch envied around Ireland. Other early stadiums from this period in the UK include the Stamford Bridge stadium (opened in 1877 for the London Athletic Club ) and Anfield stadium (1884 as

EPRU Stadium - Misplaced Pages Continue

3200-638: The National Football League or the American Football League . (To a certain extent, this continues in lower football leagues as well, with the venue now known as Charles Schwab Field Omaha being used as the home stadium of the United Football League's Omaha Nighthawks .) Along with today's single use stadiums is the trend for retro-style ballparks closer to downtown areas. Oriole Park at Camden Yards

3300-762: The Premier Soccer League . The club used the stadium again at times during their 2009/2010 campaign in the National First Division . This was due to availability problems with their preferred home ground, the Westbourne Oval. The stadium was officially closed in July 2010. The Eastern Province Rugby Union has moved all games to the new world class Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth. The last match to be played at

3400-537: The South Korea . Korea won 3–1. On 28 February 2010, Orlando Pirates 'hosted' Gaborone United in the second leg of the preliminary round of the CAF Champions League . The game ended 2 all, with Gaborone United advancing on the away goals rule . The match also served as part of the stadiums official opening ceremony. This included local music acts, a junior football match, and the unveiling of

3500-577: The Summer Olympics and the FIFA World Cup (of association football), during which cities often pledge to build new stadiums in order to satisfy the International Olympic Committee (IOC) or FIFA . In recent decades, to help take the burden of the massive expense of building and maintaining a stadium, many American and European sports teams have sold the rights to the name of the facility. This trend, which began in

3600-627: The 'Nelson Mandela Stadium' in the media. This may lead to confusion, as there is a Nelson Mandela Stadium in Kampala , Uganda. It is also sometimes mistakenly claimed that the stadium is named after Mandela, rather than the metropolitan area named in his honour. The stadium was designed by the Department of Public Works' National Construction Week Programme in 2006 with student from Holy Cross High School Thina Dlulane, Yandisa Dalamba, Inga Ngalonkulu and Siyabonga Nyezi from Umtata. Their design that

3700-654: The 1960s stadiums began to be used as live venues for popular music, giving rise to the term " stadium rock ", particularly for forms of hard rock and progressive rock . The origins of stadium rock are sometimes dated to when the Beatles played Shea Stadium in New York in 1965. Also important was the use of large stadiums for American tours by bands in the later 1960s, such as the Rolling Stones , Grand Funk Railroad and Led Zeppelin . The tendency developed in

3800-604: The 1970s, but accelerated greatly in the 1990s, has led to sponsors' names being affixed to both established stadiums and new ones. In some cases, the corporate name replaces (with varying degrees of success) the name by which the venue has been known for many years. But many of the more recently built stadiums, like the Volkswagen Arena in Wolfsburg , Germany, have never been known by a non-corporate name. The sponsorship phenomenon has since spread worldwide. There remain

3900-532: The 1990s. In several cases, an American football stadium has been constructed adjacent to a baseball park , to allow for the sharing of mutual parking lots and other amenities. With the rise of MLS, the construction of soccer-specific stadiums has also increased since the late 1990s to better fit the needs of that sport. In many cases, earlier baseball stadiums were constructed to fit into a particular land area or city block. This resulted in asymmetrical dimensions for many baseball fields. Yankee Stadium , for example,

4000-643: The 2009 edition of the Premier's Cup. The teams contesting the cup were, Supersport United , Kaizer Chiefs , Bloemfontein Celtic , and Bay United . 20,000 fans attended this event. On 23 July 2009, the stadium hosted a leg of the 2009 Vodacom Challenge . The match involved the Orlando Pirates and the Kaizer Chiefs . The 30,000 strong crowd watched the Kaizer Chiefs win 4–3 on penalties, after

4100-606: The 2011 Tri Nations match between the Springboks and New Zealand . In 2011 the stadium hosted a leg of the Vodacom Challenge , as it did in 2009 . A crowd of 45,800 attended to watch the showdown between the country's top two PSL teams. The South African leg of the IRB Sevens World Series was up for tender in late 2010, and the Eastern Province Rugby Union announced an intention to host

EPRU Stadium - Misplaced Pages Continue

4200-507: The June 2006 estimated cost of R 711 million, to R 1.5 billion in May 2008, and finally the completed cost of R 2.065 billion. The stadium eventually cost R 2.1 billion to build, of which the city has already paid R 336 million, and may still be laible to pay a shortfall of R 261 million. However, if the shortfalls are calculated based on the 10-20-70 split, then the national government may still owes

4300-630: The North End Lake. The 3 gates are: gate A-B, in Milner Avenue, gate B-C, in Prince Alfred Road, and gate C-D, in Fettes Road. The stadium seats 46,000 in addition to 4,000 extra seats temporarily installed for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The seats are of different shades, from light orange to dark red. They are arranged seemingly at random, but this was done to help the stadium appear full at all times. It also means that sun damage

4400-574: The North End train station, which is located about 1.3 km from the stadium. While the network is still being built, the Algoa Bus Company has set up temporary bus stops in the surrounding streets. These are used on game days, to provide public transport until the completion of the BRT network. Within the stadium area is a park, left over from the old Prince Alfred Park. The park is used for small-scale outdoor concerts. The stadium

4500-521: The Orange Free State man's glass eye flew out and landed in the mud. At the 1995 Rugby World Cup on 3 June 1995, South Africa took on Canada in a clash that has also sometimes been dubbed the Battle of Boet Erasmus. The match, which South Africa ultimately won 20–0, was marred by an on-field scuffle with four players involved in a brawl. South Africa hooker James Dalton , who had come to

4600-487: The U.S. The Baker Bowl , a baseball park in Philadelphia that opened in its original form in 1887 but was completely rebuilt in 1895, broke new ground in stadium construction in two major ways. The stadium's second incarnation featured the world's first cantilevered second deck (tier) in a sports venue, and was the first baseball park to use steel and brick for the majority of its construction. Another influential venue

4700-453: The US is bleachers , which is mostly used for seating areas with bench seats as opposed to individual seats, and which often are uncovered; the name refers to the bleaching effect direct, unshaded sunlight has on the benches and patrons in those sections. Many stadiums make luxury suites or boxes available to patrons at high prices. These suites can accommodate ten to thirty people, depending on

4800-421: The aid of a teammate who had been struck on the back of the head, and winger Pieter Hendriks were suspended for the remainder of the tournament for their roles in the incident and could only watch from the sidelines as the nation went on to claim its first Rugby World Cup title. The stadium was used as the home ground for Port Elizabeth's, Bay United F.C. who moved to the stadium for their 2008/2009 season in

4900-632: The city R 70.5 million and provincial government R 191 million. National treasury has so far contributed R 1.375 billion, or 66.5% of the stadium's cost. Despite this, national treasury has stated that they will not forward more funds to World Cup stadiums. It appears as though Port Elizabeth residents may make up the shortfall through larger rates increases. There will be an extra 2% increase in property rates, an extra 1% increase in water tariffs and sanitation and refuse rates, as well as an extra 4% increase in electricity tariffs. The stadium's running costs are estimated to be R18 million per year. As of 2010,

5000-561: The city of Port Elizabeth would have been expected to pay R 95 million. This was part of an informal agreement on World Cup stadium funding, whereby local municipalities would cover 10% of costs, provincial government 20% and national treasury would cover the other 70%. As with other World Cup stadia in South Africa, construction costs for the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium spiralled substantially. It increased from

5100-458: The construction of new facilities. In Europe and Latin America, where there are multiple association football clubs in any given city, and several leagues in each country, no such monopoly power exists, and stadiums are built primarily with private money. Outside professional sports, governments are also involved through the intense competition for the right to host major sporting events, primarily

SECTION 50

#1732780295353

5200-399: The event. Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event at the ancient Greek Olympic festival was the race that comprised one length of the stadion at Olympia , where the word "stadium" originated. Most of the stadiums with a capacity of at least 10,000 are used for association football . Other popular stadium sports include gridiron football , baseball , cricket ,

5300-410: The event. The South African government also gave its backing to Port Elizabeth hosting the event. Ultimately, SARU announced that Port Elizabeth had won the bidding for hosting rights, and would hold the event at the stadium from 2011 forward. The stadium was one of the host venues for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations . South Africa had originally bid to host the 2015 edition and had won rights to

5400-408: The first and second Busch Stadiums , in that the parks were named by and for the club's owner, which also happened to be the name of the company owned by those clubowners. (The current Busch Stadium received its name via a modern naming rights agreement.) During the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, some stadiums were temporarily renamed because FIFA prohibits sponsorship of stadiums. For example,

5500-480: The game ended 1–1. Kaizer Chiefs went on to face Manchester City in the final of the challenge. On 9 August 2009, (Women's Day in South Africa) a special double-header of games was played. This, along with female musical acts were performed to celebrate Women's Day. The first match involved two women's teams, Nelson Mandela Bay XI and Amatole Invitational XI, the second was between a Brazilian legends team and

5600-476: The largest among them, are megaprojects that can only be afforded by the largest corporations, wealthiest individuals, or government. Sports fans have a deep emotional attachment to their teams. In North America, with its closed-league " franchise " system, there are fewer teams than cities which would like them. This creates tremendous bargaining power for the owners of teams, whereby owners can threaten to relocate teams to other cities unless governments subsidize

5700-546: The lead of Aerosmith and including Mötley Crüe , Quiet Riot , W.A.S.P. and Ratt . Since the 1980s, rock, pop and folk stars, including the Grateful Dead , Madonna , Michael Jackson , Beyoncé , Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift , have undertaken large-scale stadium based concert tours . Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium The Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium is a soccer and rugby union stadium in Gqeberha in

5800-418: The mid-1970s as the increased power of amplification and sound systems allowed the use of larger and larger venues. Smoke, fireworks and sophisticated lighting shows became staples of arena rock performances. Key acts from this era included Journey , REO Speedwagon , Boston , Foreigner , Styx , Kiss , Peter Frampton and Queen . In the 1980s arena rock became dominated by glam metal bands, following

5900-456: The mile (536 m); outside there was a 35-foot-wide (11 m), 660-yard (600 m) cycle track. The infield included a swimming and diving pool. The London Highbury Stadium , built in 1913, was the first stadium in the UK to feature a two-tiered seating arrangement when it was redesigned in the Art Deco style in 1936. During these decades, parallel stadium developments were taking place in

6000-481: The modern stadium. The first stadiums to be built in the modern era were basic facilities, designed for the single purpose of fitting as many spectators in as possible. With tremendous growth in the popularity of organised sport in the late Victorian era , especially association football in the United Kingdom and baseball in the United States, the first such structures were built. One such early stadium

6100-613: The most famous being the Stadium of Domitian , in Rome. The excavated and refurbished ancient Panathenaic Stadium hosted attempted revivals of the Olympic Games in 1870 and 1875 before hosting the first modern Olympics in 1896 , the 1906 Intercalated Games , and some events of the 2004 Summer Olympics . The excavation and refurbishment of the stadium was part of the legacy of the Greek national benefactor Evangelos Zappas , and it

SECTION 60

#1732780295353

6200-481: The name of one of FIFA's major sponsors , was known by its historic name of Ellis Park Stadium during the 2010 FIFA World Cup . Corporate names are also temporarily replaced during the Olympics. Modern stadiums bring several negative environmental issues with their construction. They require thousands of tons of materials to build, they greatly increase traffic in the area around the stadium, as well as maintaining

6300-401: The namesake corporation changes its name, or if it is the naming agreement simply expires. Phoenix's Chase Field , for example, was previously known as Bank One Ballpark, but was renamed to reflect the takeover of the latter corporation. San Francisco's historic Candlestick Park was renamed as 3Com Park for several years, but the name was dropped when the sponsorship agreement expired, and it

6400-475: The old stadiums they replace. In North America, where baseball and American football are the two most popular outdoor spectator sports, a number of football/baseball multi-use stadiums were built, especially during the 1960s, and some of them were successful. Since the requirements for baseball and football are significantly different, the trend has been toward the construction of single-purpose stadiums, beginning with Kansas City in 1972–1973 and accelerating in

6500-399: The process and the development of the stadium was expected to result in the upliftment and urban renewal of the surrounding residential and commercial area of North End and the major routes leading to the stadium. It was hoped the stadium would bring vast social and economic opportunities, during and after the World Cup. Original estimates put the cost of the stadium at R895 million, of which

6600-828: The public. An "all-seater" stadium has seats for all spectators. Other stadiums are designed so that all or some spectators stand to view the event. The term "all-seater" is not common in the U.S., as very few American stadiums have sizeable standing-only sections. Poor stadium design has contributed to disasters, such as the Hillsborough disaster and the Heysel Stadium disaster . Since these, all Premier League , UEFA European Championship and FIFA World Cup qualifying matches require all spectators to be seated. Seating areas may be known as terraces , tiers , or decks . Originally set out for standing room only, they are now usually equipped with seating. Another term used in

6700-537: The redevelopment of the land. The stadium was demolished in 2019. The stadium was one of 9 venues throughout South Africa used for the Rugby World Cup. The stadium was used for group games in Group A. It hosted 3 games, including the match between South Africa and Canada: When the tournament was moved to South Africa, the EPRU Stadium was chosen as one of 4 host stadiums. A total of 6 pool games were played at

6800-533: The south stand under cover, while the remaining three stands were left as terraces and uncovered. It was the first stadium to feature continuous seating along the contours of the stadium. These early venues, originally designed to host football matches, were adopted for use by the Olympic Games, the first one being held in 1896 in Athens , Greece. The White City Stadium , built for the 1908 Summer Olympics in London

6900-446: The stadium The Eastern Province Rugby Union intended to move all future matches to the stadium. From 2010 onwards, all of Eastern Province's Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup matches were set to be played at the stadium. Their first match after officially moving to the stadium was their 26–25 victory over the Griffons . The team has since hosted some Vodacom Cup matches at other venues. On 16 June 2009 ( Youth Day in South Africa ),

7000-500: The stadium during game days. The main bus station servicing the stadium will be located in Harrower Road. There will be routes to the stadium from the airport, fan park and the beach front. In addition to the BRT network, there will be a number of 'park and ride' areas. These will be located at King's Beach, St George's Park and Andrew Rabie High School. There will also be a 'park and walks' from Cilliè High School and Dr Viljoen Primary School. There will also be match day train services to

7100-466: The stadium had been removed from the list of stadiums for the 2009 Confederations Cup as it was believed it would not be ready on time. Surprisingly, however, it became the first newly built 2010 stadium to be completed. The stadium hosted eight games during the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament. It hosted five group games, as well as a round of 16 game, a quarterfinal and the 3rd/4th playoff. The stadium's games were: The stadium hosted 8 games during

7200-470: The stadium hosted its first Premier Soccer League game. Santos 'hosted' Kaizer Chiefs at the stadium, as no venue was available in the Western Cape due to World Cup renovations. A crowd of 20,000 was in attendance as Kaizer Chiefs won 1–0 in controversial fashion. On 14 January 2010, the stadium hosted a friendly match. The match was between local National First Division club, Bay United and

7300-481: The stadium is provided across five parking zones, providing a total of 500 parking spaces utilised by working staff, anchor tenants, event organisers and hospitality guests. The playing surface was made of natural grass that was grown off site, in the St Albans area. The areas surrounding the pitch are made of artificial turf. The field that was originally laid was a mixture of kikuyu grass and rye grass , but for

7400-475: The stadium was a friendly against the Blue Bulls on 3 July 2010. The Boet hosted age-group, amateur and club rugby matches after being officially closed but has since been abandoned, with vagrants and thieves having slowly dismantled the stadium to such an extent that all that remains are the concrete structures. The local municipality, who own the property, has asked for proposals from the private sector for

7500-401: The stadium's history. The vastly differing character of European football stadiums has led to the growing hobby of ground hopping where spectators make a journey to visit the stadium for itself rather than for the event held there. In recent years the trend of building completely new oval stadiums in Europe has led to traditionalists criticising the designs as bland and lacking in the character of

7600-424: The stadium, as well as a quarter-final: During the 2010 FIFA World Cup , the stadium was used as a logistics point for Port Elizabeth, a host city. Stadium A stadium ( pl. : stadiums or stadia ) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view

7700-536: The stadium. The increased traffic around modern stadiums has led to create exposure zones says the Health Effect Institute, exposing 30–40% of people living around the stadium to potential health issues. Many stadiums are attempting to counteract these issues by implementing solar panels, and high efficiency lighting, to reduce their own carbon footprint. Although concerts, such as classical music, had been presented in them for decades, beginning in

7800-587: The stadiums official plaque. The stadium hosted the 2011 edition of the Nelson Mandela Challenge. The international friendly between Bafana Bafana and the Ivory Coast was played on 12 November. The Eastern Province Rugby Union moved from the EPRU Stadium to Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, after the 2010 FIFA World Cup . The union moved their administrative headquarters to the stadium in July 2010. Having previously hosted certain matches at

7900-480: The stadiums operating company, Access Facilities and Leisure Management, expected to break even by 2012. The Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium is the home ground to EP Kings, Southern Kings and Chippa United. The Southern Kings were part of the Super Rugby Competition in 2013 but were later relegated. The stadium has also hosted Springbok test matches and Bafana Bafana matches. The stadium hosted

8000-491: The start of the "jewel box" era of park construction. The largest stadium crowd ever was 199,854 people watching the final match of the 1950 World Cup at Rio de Janeiro 's Maracanã on 16 July 1950. Domed stadiums are distinguished from conventional stadiums by their enclosing roofs. Many of these are not actually domes in the pure architectural sense, some being better described as vaults , some having truss -supported roofs and others having more exotic designs such as

8100-439: The theatre, with its seating arrangements foreshadowing those of modern stadiums. The Romans copied the theatre, then expanded it to accommodate larger crowds and more elaborate settings. The Romans also developed the double-sized round theatre called amphitheatre , seating crowds in the tens of thousands for gladiatorial combats and beast shows. The Greek stadium and theatre and the Roman circus and amphitheatre are all ancestral to

8200-517: The various codes of rugby , field lacrosse , bandy , and bullfighting . Many large sports venues are also used for concerts. "Stadium" is the Latin form of the Greek word " stadion " ( στάδιον ), a measure of length equalling the length of 600 human feet. As feet are of variable length the exact length of a stadion depends on the exact length adopted for 1 foot at a given place and time. Although in modern terms 1 stadion = 600 ft (180 m), in

8300-562: The venue. Luxury suites at events such as the Super Bowl can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Due to the number of people congregating in stadiums and the frequency of events, many notable accidents have occurred in the past, some causing injury and death. For example, the Hillsborough disaster was a human crush at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield , England on 15 April 1989. The resulting 97 deaths and 765 injuries makes this

8400-502: The west and two on the east of the stadium. Four additional lifts are planned for the legacy phase. There are 32 turnstiles and colour-coded gates on level 2 for spectators to access their seats and four ramps leading up from level 2 to level 5. Two big viewing screens (12.7m x 7.2m) were installed for live coverage of the activities on the field. There are a total of 74 toilet blocks – 36 blocks on level 2 – 4 blocks on level 3 – 14 blocks on level 4 and 20 blocks on level 5. Parking inside

8500-468: The world. The architect Archibald Leitch brought his experience with the construction of industrial buildings to bear on the design of functional stadiums up and down the country. His work encompassed the first 40 years of the 20th century. One of his most notable designs was Old Trafford in Manchester. The ground was originally designed with a capacity of 100,000 spectators and featured seating in

8600-461: The worst disaster in British sporting history. Much effort has been spent to avoid the recurrence of such events, both in design and legislation. Especially where there is a perceived risk of terrorism or violence attention remains high to prevent human death and keep stadiums as places where families can enjoy a public event together. In Europe and South America, during the twentieth century, it

8700-585: Was Boston 's Harvard Stadium , built in 1903 by Harvard University for its American football team and track and field program. It was the world's first stadium to use concrete-and-steel construction. In 1909, concrete-and-steel construction came to baseball with the opening of Shibe Park in Philadelphia and, a few months later, Forbes Field in Pittsburgh . The latter was the world's first three-tiered sporting venue. The opening of these parks marked

8800-628: Was also the intended home of the Southern Spears , a team that was scheduled to play in the 2006 Currie Cup in preparation for its admission to the Super Rugby starting in 2007. However, the Spears were later denied entry into both competitions. The stadium is credited for being the first stomping ground of a number of Springbok legends, included in which are Danie Gerber , Garth Wright, Frans Erasmus and Hannes Marias. In 1974, during

8900-613: Was another two years before the new name of Monster Cable Products ' Monster Park was applied. Local opposition to the corporate naming of that particular stadium led San Francisco's city council to permanently restore the Candlestick Park name once the Monster contract expired. More recently, in Ireland, there has been huge opposition to the renaming of Dublin 's historic Lansdowne Road as the Aviva Stadium . Lansdowne

9000-585: Was built on a triangular city block in The Bronx , New York City. This resulted in a large left field dimension but a small right field dimension. Before more modern football stadiums were built in the United States, many baseball parks, including Fenway Park , the Polo Grounds , Wrigley Field , Comiskey Park , Tiger Stadium , Griffith Stadium , Milwaukee County Stadium , Shibe Park , Forbes Field , Yankee Stadium , and Sportsman's Park were used by

9100-686: Was common for violent bands of supporters to fight inside or close to association football stadiums. In the United Kingdom they are known as hooligans . Structural features that increase safety include separate entry and exit accesses for each spectator area, especially separating accesses for home and visitor supporters, dividing walls, glass parapets, vibration attenuation and sprinkler systems. Security features that have been adopted include armed surveillance, Identity document checks, video surveillance , metal detectors and security searches to enforce rules that forbid spectators to carry dangerous or potentially dangerous items. Modern stadiums, especially

9200-536: Was handled by a consortium made up of Ibhayi JV. It was built on the site of the old Parks Rugby Club, and the Prince Alfred Park. The roof material of the stadium consists of a combination of aluminium cladding, combined with a membrane material called polytetrafluoroethylene ( PTFE ), which is a coated glass-fibre fabric and steel superstructure. This tensile structure was supplied and installed by an Australian company. The total length of piles installed

9300-482: Was originally planned to be one of five venues to be utilised in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup , and the only new stadium in the event. The other four stadiums to be used were Ellis Park Stadium , Loftus Versfeld Stadium , Royal Bafokeng Stadium and Free State Stadium . The four stadiums were already built and merely received upgrades for the Confederations Cup. On 8 July 2008 it was announced that

9400-698: Was primarily used as the home of rugby in the Eastern Cape. Situated in the affluent suburb of Summerstrand , it hosted matches at Test, Super Rugby , Currie Cup , Vodacom Cup and club level. It was regularly used by the Eastern Province Elephants under their previous names, the Mighty Elephants and the Eastern Province Kings and hosted their two home matches during the 1994 Super 10 season. The stadium

9500-480: Was redeveloped as the Aviva, opening in May 2010. On the other hand, Los Angeles' Great Western Forum , one of the earliest examples of corporate renaming, retained its name for many years, even after the namesake bank no longer existed, the corporate name being dropped only after the building later changed ownership. This practice has typically been less common in countries outside the United States. A notable exception

9600-563: Was reportedly the first floodlit stadium. Floodlighting in association football dates as far back as 1878, when there were floodlit experimental matches at Bramall Lane, Sheffield during the dark winter afternoons. With no national grid , lights were powered by batteries and dynamoes , and were unreliable. Since the development of electrical grids, lighting has been an important element in stadium design, allowing games to be played after sundown, and in covered, or partly covered stadiums that allow less natural light, but provide more shelter for

9700-557: Was reviewed in the Mahlamba Ndlopfu Presidency House by the Public Work delegates and was the winning designed prototype concept and was the inspiration behind the design. The stadium has a unique roof-structure and views over the North End Lake. The roof is made up of a series of white 'petals' making it look like a flower. This is the reason for the stadium's nickname, The Protea. The stadium building

9800-509: Was the Lansdowne Road Stadium , the brainchild of Henry Dunlop , who organised the first All Ireland Athletics Championships. Banned from locating sporting events at Trinity College, Dunlop built the stadium in 1872. "I laid down a cinder running path of a quarter-mile, laid down the present Lansdowne Tennis Club ground with my own theodolite, started a Lansdowne archery club, a Lansdowne cricket club, and last, but not least,

9900-468: Was the first ancient stadium to be used in modern times. Stadiums in ancient Greece and Rome were built for different purposes, and at first only the Greeks built structures called "stadium"; Romans built structures called " circus ". Greek stadia were for foot races, whereas the Roman circus was for horse races. Both had similar shapes and bowl-like areas around them for spectators. The Greeks also developed

10000-525: Was the first such ballpark for Major League Baseball to be built, using early-20th-century styling with 21st-century amenities. There is a solar-powered stadium in Taiwan that produces as much energy as it needs to function. Stadium designers often study acoustics to increase noise caused by fans' voices, aiming to create a lively atmosphere. Until the advent of floodlights , most games played on large areas had to rely on natural lighting. Bramall Lane

#352647