Mayor urges WP to change stadium stance
17 Nov 2011
Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille wants the WPRFU to reconsider its position on the Cape Town Stadium and at the very least renew talks with the city council.
The Western Province Rugby Union issued a statement on Tuesday that said there would be no further talks about a permanent move for the Stormers and WP to the Cape Town Stadium. They also confirmed that the historic European Cup match between Saracens and Biarritz would be staged at Newlands, because according to the Cape union, Newlands is the home of rugby in the region.
Following what appears to be WP’s final decision on the issue, De Lille has written to the union in an attempt to renew talks between WP and the city council.
‘To date, the city and Western Province Rugby have had several technical discussions aimed at paving the way for formal discussions to commence,’ De Lille wrote. ‘These have been productive and cordial, with both parties knowing full well that their principals are the final authority in taking decisions.
‘In light of the genial relationship that has pervaded to date, I would like to engage with you and your management team with a view to lifting your suspension and recommencing talks with the city.’
De Lille said the city had been in talks with Saracens CEO Edward Griffiths about the commercial viability of hosting such a big game at the Cape Town Stadium. The city received backing from the IRB and Saru to stage the game at this magnificent venue, but the final decision was WP’s to make.
De Lille added that a European Cup game in Green Point next January would not serve as a guarantee that WP would move there in future.
“At no stage did we intend to dishonour our ongoing and amicable discussions with you by entering into a commercially viable agreement with Saracens,’ the mayor continued in her letter to WP. ‘I am aware that the Saracens decision may have had unintended consequences (ie negative reactions from your stakeholders). This was never our intention. Nor was it an attempt to pre-empt any decision of a move of Western Province rugby to the Cape Town Stadium.’
308 Comments
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17 Nov 2011, 16:50 pm
@Dusky(Dusky)-299:
good man…!!
the first step is always the hardest… recognizing you have a problem…
17 Nov 2011, 16:51 pm
@ufo(ufo)-301:
just pulling your socks dusky…
you were having fun bustin grant’s tjops… so thought i’d bust yours a bit…
i fully respect you and anyone else who does MMA…
you certainly earn my respect for that… if not quite for the quality of your banter…
kudos…
17 Nov 2011, 16:54 pm
@ufo(ufo)-302: You guys are looney man…I don’t do it anymore by the way – too many long term injuries. Pain medication is my friend….
17 Nov 2011, 16:54 pm
@ufo(ufo)-292:
i saw the words ‘family’ and ’100 years’ and i thought you were refering to the sentimental aspect.
i agree with you that in some particular circumstances owning property is cheaper than renting it. but this is not a hard rule. anyway…
17 Nov 2011, 17:01 pm
@Dusky(Dusky)-303:
hehehe…
yeah… guess we are… can’t otherwise explain why, with never winning a title, we are still all so passionate about wp rugby…
i can imagine the injuries you guys must get… makes boxing seems like a game for woesies… (not that it is…)
you must know our SA ex-world champ… (damn… have been googling but can’t find his name…) from the 90s…
he lives in our area and after his retirement studied and has become a counsellor for troubled teens…
amazing…what a role model for kids…
huge respect for him going back to ‘school’ and creating another career for himself…
17 Nov 2011, 17:02 pm
@mr_ruga_luva(mr_ruga_luva)-304:
sure… i accept that it’s swings and roundabouts…
17 Nov 2011, 18:40 pm
These Tjarks are deurmekaar!
17 Nov 2011, 18:55 pm
This is the first step in a long dance with the money men (rupert family) positioning themselves for the new rugby circus, with the western cape franchise going to them based at the new cape town stadium, wp being sidelined and left behind in the new rugby circus, clubs and new franchises taking over from old entrenched one dimensional unions. This is a scary time for our old traditional values of rugby, but every thing comes to an end, times r a changing and u can’t afford to run things with a wink wink nudge nudge mentality like we have for the passt hundred years.
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