First published in the Daily Maverick 168 weekly newspaper.

This weekend the Stormers start a new era when they take on the Cheetahs at the Cape Town Stadium. The match is a friendly and part of their preparation for the Rainbow Cup, but it’s not the first time the Stormers have played at the modern Green Point venue.

It’s significant, though, because it marks the first time the city’s biggest sports franchise plays at the Cape Town Stadium as its anchor tenant. Western Province, and therefore the Stormers too, have officially vacated Newlands, their home for the past 130 years.

Cape Town Stadium (let’s hope in the spirit of renaming places, this stadium will have a more exciting name soon) is modern and sexy. It’s a chance for the beleaguered franchise to embrace change.

However, the move to the new stadium got me thinking about the great sports arenas of the world. Although they are concrete, glass and steel structures, people have an elemental connection to them.

The move from Newlands has caused no shortage of outrage and angst from supporters who have been going to the ground since childhood. “History” and “tradition” are the most used arguments against moving, and while they are important, in a modern world there are issues such as safety and comfort to consider.

Newlands is a crumbling relic in my view; if a fire had broken out on the railway stand side of the ground, I fear what the consequences might have been. On the 10th floor, the only way up and down is in one of two small lifts, or through a warren of narrow staircases. It was hardly unusual to find people lost and scurrying down dead ends when looking for private suites. Imagine the confusion if 20,000 people were panicking in smoke and fire and trying to escape. It doesn’t really bear thinking about.

That’s not to say any stadium is perfect, but the Cape Town Stadium was designed with huge sweeping staircases, and multiple massive exits on a wide concourse around the stadium. At 60,000 capacity, it can be fully evacuated in under 10 minutes.

That’s just one aspect. Newlands certainly offered good viewing from seats in the bleachers, but so does Cape Town Stadium, while the latter venue has better and more numerous eating and refreshment facilities. It also has wonderful bathrooms. That might sound ridiculous but when 50,000 plus people are running for the loo at halftime, it can be difficult, especially for women. 

Emotional connection

I understand though that stadiums are not just venues to watch a sports event. For heavily invested fans, stadiums are like a place of worship. There is deep emotion and pride invested in the venue, much of it framed by nostalgia, but it is a deeply visceral experience for those fans.

Even if you’re not emotionally invested in a particular stadium, as a sports lover there is a sense of awe when travelling to iconic venues around the world.

I’ve been lucky enough in my 25-year professional career to visit a few iconic venues on my travels.

As a diehard Liverpool FC fan since childhood, my one regret is that I still haven’t experienced a live match at Anfield. Post Covid-19, I hope to correct that oversight.

But my journeys have taken me to incredible places and most importantly both historical and new arenas that are in their infancy. Both have their merits.

I twice attended Springbok matches at ramshackle Carisbrook in Dunedin. The so-called “house of pain” wasn’t a great stadium objectively speaking, with old stands, terrible media facilities and poor views from many parts of the ground. It had history and nostalgia and was a great experience, but I wouldn’t have wanted to go there every week.

Eden Park in Auckland and the Westpac Stadium in Wellington double as cricket grounds, so the rugby action can feel distant, although at full capacity they are intimidating. One of the most tingling experiences I had was at Dublin’s Croke Park. The 80,000 capacity stadium almost magically rises out of the Drumcondra working-class suburb. It was the scene of the “Bloody Sunday” massacre in 1920 and the echoes of that tragedy are tangible. It was as close to a spiritual experience as I have come in a stadium.

The new Wembley is jaw-dropping in its scale and architecture and the Millennium Stadium is Cardiff has a great atmosphere. It’s also smack bang in the middle of the city, making it unusual and adding to the pre- and post-match fun. Twickenham is a bit of a schlep to reach, but is worth the effort while Murrayfield and the Aviva in Dublin are raucous and passionate.

The Stade de France in Paris is a bit like its location in the suburbs of Paris – removed. One of the all-time great venues though is the Stade Velodrome in Marseille. Watching rugby under the Mediterranean sun with 60,000 excited Frenchmen was brilliant.

Centre Court at Wimbledon is disappointingly small, but history seeps from the seats, while the tiny Iffley Road in Oxford, where I covered the Junior Boks in 2003, was wonderfully quirky. It was the venue where Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile, and if you looked hard enough, you could imagine him charging around the field.

A full Ellis Park is a spine-tingling experience. There are few stadiums in the world better to watch football or rugby. The Orlando Stadium is wonderfully close and intimate and the Calabash down the road is cavernous and intimidating.

Every stadium has pros and cons and every stadium has many stories to tell. The new ones are only starting to create their narratives, but in time they will have history and tradition too.

Moving from Newlands is painful for some people. But change is a good thing, especially when upgrading to something that is shiny and modern.

All it needs is for a sports team to really give it purpose and fans to give it life. Hopefully Capetonians will embrace the Stormers’ new home when they are allowed back in, to create the next 100 years of history. DM168

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper which is available for free to Pick n Pay Smart Shoppers at these Pick n Pay stores.