Newlands sale delayed due to heritage site proposal

Oberholzer briefed the media on where the process to sell Newlands stood: “We have been quite far down the line on the sale of Newlands at the end of last year, with an independent RFP (request for proposal) process that was run, headed up by independent property developers,” he said.

“The heritage application, that was made by Mr Wynand Claassen, put a halt to any of the proceedings. The companies that were interested in obtaining the properties around Newlands said they cannot proceed any further until the heritage matter has been resolved. That makes sense, as nobody is going to buy the property when there is a risk that afterward, they cannot utilise it for whatever purposes they bought it for.”

Oberholzer continued saying the proposal was not helping the union: “The proposal to declare the stadium a heritage site has the potential to derail so much hard work that has been done to stabilise WP Rugby both on and off the field.

“We have consulted with a heritage specialist who is confident that Newlands Stadium does not qualify as a heritage site, but the upcoming public participation process will also be pivotal in determining the outcome of the proposal,” he said.

This matter is set to be put forward for public input in the near future.

Oberholzer made it clear that there is a lot at stake: “The only thing is maybe nostalgia. Now, are we going to destroy the WPRFU because of nostalgia? And who’s nostalgia? A small minority that were able to go to Newlands. Should that small group’s nostalgia really destroy this proud rugby union?

“The fact that is is in public participation, we can’t do anything about it. As I said, our legal advice said that there are no grounds for it to be declared a heritage site. We have to go through the process. Everybody, the clubs and public, must be part of the process to ensure that their voice is heard. We cannot allow a few disgruntled rugby supporters to be the ones speaking for us as a community.”

Western Province Rugby officially started a new era at DHL Stadium at the start of the 2021 season, with the DHL Stormers going on to lift the Vodacom United Rugby Championship trophy in front of their faithful fans at their new home in June 2022.

Oberholzer, who was appointed in October 2021 after Western Province was put under administration by the South African Rugby Union, said that Claassen first contacted him to express interest in the sale of Newlands, but did not submit any official bid and that there are questions around what the former players motives are for this application:

“Even if the heritage application is successful, we still don’t know what Wynand wants to do with the property once he has turned it into a heritage site. Western Province can never go back there again. We have to understand that.

“The other issue is, who is going to upkeep the stadium? Who is going to pay for whatever plans that Wynand has? The property still belongs to WPRFU, who will still have some sort of obligation to the upkeep of the stadium. Even then, the WPRFU decided to mothball the stadium many years ago.

“What we are concerned about is that an ill-informed process to turn it into a heritage site is going to be so detrimental to Western Province rugby, that I cannot foresee how they will succeed in getting themselves out of that hole. We are also concerned about the motive of the heritage application. It is coming from somebody who has no affiliation to the WPRFU or no affiliation to Newlands Stadium and he is now suddenly the speaker of the stadium’s heritage.

“We must be careful of falling into the rhetoric that this is saving the history of Newlands. We have moved on. We are not going back. That decision has been taken.”

Also at the press conference was the union’s general manager Jones, he said reiterated that the decision to move to the new site was voted for and confirmed over three years ago.

“All of the WPRFU’s proper processes were followed when it was decided that our professional teams would play their rugby at DHL Stadium.

“Newlands Stadium cannot currently be used to host rugby matches, but its sale remains crucial to the future of Western Province Rugby and we are hopeful that all stakeholders will do their utmost to ensure that happens,” he said.

Jones shared that it would cost Western Province too much money to keep upgrading Newlands.

“In 2011-12, PWC did a project for us to find out what it would cost to remain at Newlands. Back then, it was already R150 million, just to do the minimum upgrades to get it to be a good, fair stadium. That was 12 years ago, so today it could probably be around R300 million. We all have fond memories of Newlands, but we cannot deny progress. Cape Town Stadium is now the home of Stormers and Western Province rugby.”

Oberholzer also reminded everyone present that even if it were declared a heritage site, the Stormers will not be playing there: “While rugby could be played there, the Stormers will never play there again. That is because of the agreement that was reached between the WPRFU, the company and the city.

“We are in a 30-year agreement with the City of Cape Town to play our games in the stadium.”

The Stormers are currently on a 19-home-game winning streak and playing in not only the United Rugby Championship competition, but also the Heineken Champions Cup. Their next fixture is against Clermont Auvergne at DHL Stadium on Saturday, 21 January.