The demolishing of Mamelodi township’s HM Pitje Stadium has gotten underway after years of deterioration and vandalism at the iconic sports venue.
Only the concrete stands were left to be demolished as the stadium infrastructure was stripped bare and the steel bleachers dismantled.
The Gauteng government said a sports precinct will be constructed to replace HM Pitje.
“The demolition is in response to the cries of the community for the stadium to be demolished and a new developmental project to kick-start. The Department of Sports, Arts and Culture has earmarked the area to build a state-of-the-art sports precinct.
“The envisaged precinct will not only change the face of Mamelodi, but will yield much-needed economic spin-offs for local businesses and the broader community,” the provincial Department of Human Settlements and Infrastructure Development said in a statement.
R84 million demolishing costs
The demolishing project was marred by allegations that the provincial government planned to spend a whopping R84 million just to have it razed to the ground.
While the initial estimated costs of the demolition were around R69 million, Pretoria Rekord reported the budget estimate submitted by the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development and Property Management (DID) as R84 961 596.71.
The budget included the contract administration, inspection, demolition of the stadium, site clearing and fencing of the site.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) criticised the province for wasting millions of rands on demolishing costs instead of using the money to build sports facilities for children in the township.
Mamelodi residents have over the years held marches and demonstrations to urge government to build a fully functional sports stadium in the township.
There was even a ‘Bring Back HM Pitje’ movement by groups who wanted the stadium revived.
Appearing before Parliament’s Arts and Culture Portfolio Committee in 2021, the national sports department and provincial officials said it was agreed during meetings with Mamelodi community that a 30 000-seater, 15 000-standing square stadium with multipurpose sports facilities was desirable.
The 30-000-seater stadium was estimated to cost between R36 000 and R55 000 per seat, therefore the overall cost at an average cost per seat of R45 500 would be R1.365 billion (R45 000 x 30 000).
In the run-up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, HM Pitje was one of the smaller stadiums that were earmarked for upgrades to be used for the tournament.
But due to some shortcomings, the stadium did not comply with Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) and FIFA standards.
Mamelodi Sundowns owner Patrice Motsepe in 2020 told journalists that he wanted his team to play at their former home again.
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