Possible base camp at Santé
2009-02-26
WITH less that 500 days left for Africa’s first soccer world cup event, all possibilities for international teams to set up base camp in Paarl are under investigation. The latest on the list is the Santé Winelands Hotel between Paarl and Klapmuts. This hotel closed down two years ago after the owner, the fallen asset management company Fidentia, ran into difficulties. On the official Paarl 2010 website, the four possible venues for team accommodation are listed as Santé, Diemersdal farm near Wellington, the Grande Roche Hotel in Paarl, and Pearl Valley. The Paarl Waterfront development is not mentioned on the website, although consultation with stakeholders regarding this development is in progress. Arthob Petersen, councillor of Drakenstein municipality and chairperson for Paarl 2010, told the mayoral meeting last week that Santé was also in the running to have their facilities ready for a presentation to Fifa, the international football governing body. Fifa will make the final decision on where these base camps will be, in December. All base camps must conform to Fifa requirements. “It will cost the hotel R16 million to upgrade their facilities. They have to get playing fields to accommodate the players,” said Petersen. The hotel was recently purchased by British businessman Chris Wishlade of SafCap Investments for an undisclosed sum and is currently being refurbished. It is due to open in May. The hotel was closed for more than two years and this week the new owners were busy removing the current furniture from the hotel. * The Grande Roche Hotel has also indicated that they will undertake to build an additional six suites in order to qualify for a base camp team hotel. “Upgrades to the Dal Josaphat Stadium have started and we are waiting on the final specifications for the pitch and the base camp stadium guidelines,” Petersen said.
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