The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in South Africa has taken operators of the Port Elizabeth stadium built for the 2010 Fifa World Cup to court over allegations of “fraudulent misrepresentation”.
According to The Herald newspaper, the Municipality has alleged that Access Management forced it to pay out R200m (€13.4m/$14.2m/£11.4m) more than it should have done over a six-year period.
The Municipality said in papers filed last week with the Port Elizabeth High Court, that Access has either over-claimed in expenses incurred at the 46,000-capacity Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, or under-declared income. Access was given 10 days to file a response.
Access took over operations of the stadium in September 2009, ahead of South Africa’s staging of the 2010 Fifa World Cup national football team tournament. In May 2012, this deal was extended to cover the period from July 2012 to the end of June 2015.
The agreement stated that Access would pay all turnover and income generated from Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium to the Municipality, while also being allowed to claim for certain costs incurred at the facility, such as capital and fixed operating expenses.
The Municipality alleges that Access over-charged during the period, for a total of R199.2m, and is now demanding that the money be repaid.
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