Newlands Stadium
| Newlands Stadium | |
DHL Newlands
|
|
| Location | Cape Town, South Africa |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°58′14″S 18°28′6″E / 33.97056°S 18.46833°ECoordinates: 33°58′14″S 18°28′6″E / 33.97056°S 18.46833°E |
| Owner | Western Province Rugby Union |
| Capacity | 51,900 |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1888 |
| Renovated | 1919 |
| Tenants | |
| Stormers, Western Province | |
| Website | |
| wprugby.com | |
Newlands Stadium, currently referred to as DHL Newlands for sponsorship reasons , is located in Cape Town, South Africa. The stadium currently has a capacity of 51,900 people, but is not an all seater venue. It is the oldest rugby stadium in South Africa and the second-oldest rugby stadium in the world.
Various sports teams currently use the stadium as their home base, including:
The city's soccer clubs Ajax Cape Town, Santos and Vasco da Gama have in the past occasionally hosted matches at the stadium.
The decision to buy the ground the stadium stands on was made by the Western Province Rugby and Football Union in 1888. The first official match at Newlands took place on 31 May 1890 when Stellenbosch defeated Villagers there in front of a crowd of about 2,400 people. The following year the stadium hosted its first rugby test when the British Lions toured South Africa.
It wasn't until 1919 that the first permanent concrete stands were erected on the grounds. Later, in 1927, the new grandstand was erected and the field layout was changed to run from North-South. Yet more changes came in 1931 when the South stand was also enlarged.
In the 1950s parts of a new grandstand as well as South stand were completed, facilities such as lifts and a Presidential room were added, a fourth bay was added to the grandstand, and an extension was added to the lower gallery.
The 1970s saw the stadium change once again as the headquarters of SA Rugby moved to Newlands, and several stands were built or renovated, while the 1980s saw private suites and function rooms erected on top of the North stands as well as demolition of the old South stand and inauguration of the new Danie Craven stand (also with private suites and function rooms). The 1980s also saw 10,253 seats added to the stadium.
Between 1990 and 1995 the stadium was under constant renovation, adding technology, increasing capacity, and upgrading facilities, as part of a 3-phase redevelopment plan in anticipation of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, when Newlands hosted the opening match of the tournament.
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Wikipedia