Soccer again?

[Blurock]

South African taxpayers are still battling with the cost of FIFA 2010, and yet again the ANC government is shoving CAF down our throats. Maybe we should first start delivering services and building houses and stop the parties and sport(s). ....but nobody listens.

[Dave A]

With the infrastructure already in place, I would have thought getting CAF here would be a good thing.

Why is CAF going to cost us money? I would think it would help us make some

[Nickolai Naydenov]

We have everything in place already, i also don't understand why not? It is good for the economy as it bring foreign money into our country

[Citizen X]

Once a Pirate always a Pirate! Pirate's kill Chiefs dead...

[Blurock]

Quoted from IOL news: Durban set to host Afcon

May 2 2012 at 09:58am By Lungelo Mkambad

"While Durban is optimistic about hosting the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) soccer tournament at a cost of “about R40 million”, Cape Town has refused to sign a host city agreement until it knows exactly how much the event will cost."

Durban is also hosting the Top Gear event at a reported cost of R40 million.The question I am asking; is it fair for ratepayers and tax payers to foot the bill for sporting events? ...and festivals and parties? Should these events not be put on tender and be organised by private and professional bodies? This while thousands of people are still homeless and even more children are uneducated.

Does a municipality have the right to spend ratepayers money without consulting with them or without getting a mandate? What does our legal friends have to say about this?

[Dave A]

Although there'll be a direct income in terms of leasing the stadium, I believe the true value is in the revenues the tournament generates for the city as a whole. Normally there's some sort of GDP (or "economic impact") figure attached to this sort of thing which makes the spend emminently more justifiable.

[Just Gone]

I agree .......... it would be good for the country - the income generated circulates and everyone basically benefits. If we dont spend a bit of money to generate money then we will go backwards like Zimbabwe or DRC or countries similar.

[Blurock]

Although there'll be a direct income in terms of leasing the stadium, I believe the true value is in the revenues the tournament generates for the city as a whole. Normally there's some sort of GDP (or "economic impact") figure attached to this sort of thing which makes the spend emminently more justifiable.

So why does the City (read ratepayers) have to fork out R40 million? Who is benefiting and why does the soccer bosses not foot the bill? They did after all score with the world cup, so they should be able to afford to run their own tournaments without municipal and government backing? After all, the other sporting bodies do not get the same assistance when they organise their tournaments.

Why did Cape Town not want to become a host city until they received full information about payment guarantees and what it would cost them?

[Dave A]

After all, the other sporting bodies do not get the same assistance when they organise their tournaments.

Actually some do, although it's not always in hard currency.

Why did Cape Town not want to become a host city until they received full information about payment guarantees and what it would cost them?

The only sensible reason is they wanted firm numbers with guarantees before committing. The other consideration is as these things go, this one is a bit of a rush job. Normally events this size are in the calendar and budget a couple of years in advance at least.

At the end of the day these stadiums were a massive capital investment and could only be justified with a long term view beyond the World Cup. They need to be used to deliver their return.

If it seems a little odd, consider Durban's ICC - that too was expected to be a white elephant and came in for a lot of criticism when it was first launched. And yet it has worked out to be quite an asset for Durban in the end.

[wynn]

You definitely can't just factor the price of using the stadium in to the mix, take the 'Arts Festival' in Grahamstown the figures bandied about is that every year it is worth 40Million escalating to existing Grahamstown business and accommodation establishments alone, never mind what the various artists, stall holders and food and beverage providers take away with them.

[AndyD]

Why did Cape Town not want to become a host city until they received full information about payment guarantees and what it would cost them?

One city official said it was a “typical case and Cape Town was asking too many questions and they (Safa) probably said ‘screw them’.”

[Just Gone]

Its strange - people moan and gripe when the stadiums went up - they asked "when are we going to use them again?" - Now that we do want to host a tournement people still gripe about the costs involved !! They do not understand that there will always be running expenses - money needs to be spent by the government and the municipality for the town/city to grow, for the city's shops and industries to benefit from tourists !! I would rather money is spent on things like this than the money going into someones back pocket and then no one benefits in the long run !! It costs money to host a tournement, but at the end of the day the government gets the money back because we all benefit and pay more taxes at the end of the day !!!!

[Citizen X]

Pirates kill Bloemfontein Celtics dead! Once a buccaneer always a buccanner...

[wynn]

Pirates kill Bloemfontein Celtics dead! Once a buccaneer always a buccanner...
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Are your buccaneers on your buccanhead?

[Citizen X]

Pirates kill Bloemfontein Celtics dead! Once a buccaneer always a buccanner...
What can I say, I've stood by my team all my adult life..