Drakenstein launches bid for 2010 base camp
2007-04-19
WE are on an irreversible path to World Cup Soccer 2010, said Premier Ebrahim Rasool at Drakenstein’s base camp bid launch at the Pearl Valley Golf Estate on Sunday.
No one who wants to invest in the planning, should be afraid or be held back,” he stated his opinion, saying “we can’t be held hostage by negative people,” with regard to parties trying to stop the development of the Green Point stadium.
Talking on the lasting legacy promised by the World Cup, he said not only the stadium, but infrastructure, transport and property development would benefit.
The premier further stressed that these benefits would also extend to areas outside the metropole.
“We are no longer planning on a metropolitan basis, but are looking at a wider functional region extending from Saldanha, through Drakenstein, Worcester and Stellenbosch, to Hermanus.”
He described tourism as the second most important legacy, after infrastructure. In the past one million tourists visited Cape Town every year, but since the announcement of 2010, this has grown to 1,6 million.
Premier Rasool emphasised that we have to determine whether everyone possible benefits from these tourists - what sort of accommodation and products they are looking for, how long they stay.
He explained that South Africa’s will be a residential World Cup event, as we are a long haul destination.
In Europe soccer fans go home after matches, not visiting tourism places. This will not be the case here and we must be ready for this.
The premier named Madiba House at Drakenstein Prison as one of the places that could be developed to attract a lot of tourists, as well as our well-known wine routes.
“Fans will stay as long as their team is in the competition. They will spend money and we must have the products they will want.
“Are we thinking big enough?” he asked, adding that an estimated 400 000 people would flock to Cape Town.
Mayor Charmaine Manuel said for the leadership of Drakenstein, it would be dereliction of duty if they were not to seize the opportunity to provide the local communities with a first-hand experience of the tournament they have all been dreaming of.
“We know, from events such as the highly successful annual Mayoral Cup tournament, that the people of our region eat, drink and sleep football. We also know that football events do not get bigger than the Fifa World Cup.
“So, what a joy it would be for the Drakenstein community to feel the passion and excitement of the World Cup right here on their doorstep.
“As a Municipality, we took a conscious decision not to let the 2010 event come and go, without our active involvement.
“We have explored how best Drakenstein Municipality can realise optimum benefits for its people as it hosts one or two of the countries in preparation for the tournament.
“We have carefully analysed the benefits and found that there would be overwhelming gains for people across the socio-economic spectrum in Drakenstein towns, villages, farming neighbourhoods and townships.”
Councillor Arthob Petersen, chairperson of the management team, described the endeavour as a mammoth task, adding that the emphasis was on legacy projects.
“We must make sure that World Cup 2010 leaves a footprint in Drakenstein.” - Susan Botha
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