Featured image credit: Stormers
Western Province Rugby has officially become the anchor tenant of DHL Stadium in Cape Town following the conclusion of a long-term lease deal.
WP Rugby operates United Rugby Championship (URC) franchise the Stormers and domestic club Western Province, with the two teams having moved into DHL Stadium in early 2021 following the signing of an initial heads of agreement with the City of Cape Town in November 2019.
This saw the two teams switch from historic Newlands stadium to the 55,000-capacity DHL Stadium, which was built for South Africa’s staging of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Following the initial deal, an anchor tenant agreement, which is an amplification of the heads of agreement, has now been signed between WP Rugby, the City and the Cape Town Stadium (RF) SOC Limited, the municipal entity tasked with the management and business growth of DHL Stadium.
The agreement is for an initial 39 year tenure with an option for WP Rugby to renew for a further two periods, potentially bringing this up to 99 years. Lesley De Reuck, CEO of Cape Town Stadium (RF) SOC Limited, said: “This is an exciting time for us. We are delighted that the DHL Stadium is now the official home of WP Rugby and we look forward to their future ‘home’ matches being played at the stadium.”
Cape Town Mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis, added: “I look forward to watching the mighty DHL Stormers take on the world from their new home at DHL Stadium. This agreement is good news for sport and tourism, and for this excellent facility which hosts world-class events all-year-round.”
The relationship will see WP Rugby playing an anticipated 12 to 15 matches a year at DHL Stadium. These matches will include Stormers and Western Province games, along with any Springbok Tests allocated to WP Rugby by the South African Rugby Union.
Delivering on its mandate of being a multi-purpose stadium, DHL Stadium will also continue hosting matches for Premiership football club Cape Town City F.C., as well as a number of international concerts each year.
Aside from its bowl events, DHL Stadium also hosts a number of trade shows, conferences and exhibitions including We Are Africa, Cape Town Marathon and the Cape Town Cycle Tour.
De Reuck added: “The DHL Stadium has transformed over the last two years, and now boasts a busy and exciting calendar of events for the future years. We welcome WP Rugby as our primary anchor tenant and look forward to creating value for the City of Cape Town and its residents in the future.”
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