Thesis (MTech. degree in Architecture (Professional) / In view of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the study examines the need of the touring national soccer teams to have access to training grounds and base camps for their duration of stay in South Africa. Host stadiums will be used exclusively for match day events and training venues will have to be found elsewhere. In this study a proposal is set forth to modernise the Caledonian football grounds into a contemporary, world-class football stadium in preparation for the World Cup. The proposal is for a development according to the 'legacy' system, whereby the facility targets the requirements of the local Arcadia Shepherds Football club, but maintains the potential to be leased as a training ground by partaking teams in the 2010 event, to recuperate the finances required for constructing such a building.

This document is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree: Masters of Urban Design, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2016 / Six years after the 2010 FIFA World Cup was hosted by South Africa many researchers are still contemplating the so-called positive spin-offs that was propagated (Bond & Cottle, 2012: 1) leading up to this mega-event. Massive capital over-spending, increased public debt and severe under utilisation of these newly constructed iconic stadia and surrounding infrastructure are reported which is representative of the sobering realisation that mega-events, contrary to popular belief, may not be the ‘begin all, end all’ catalyst for urban development – a critique that has been noted in many countries of the north (Haferburg, 2011: 334). Now that the sound of cheering crowds have faded along with visual images honouring the mega-event (Young, 2015), we are faced with the stark realisation that cities need to maintain these expensive facilities and actively seek to attract large events to ensure a relatively stable stream of much required revenue. Santos (2014) questions the amount of rationality applied when such investment decisions are made and points to the generally accepted and portrayed idea that these new iconic stadia will somehow translate into other socio-economic benefits, but argues that due to the rather inflexible use of these facilities, it is very seldom that positive spin-offs are actually realisable. Therefore public investment and expenditure decisions by government have a more significant impact on the inhabitants of an area as they themselves suffer the burden of budgetary deficits, severely increased public debt (Hoiris, 2012), and most importantly, the spatial and resulting socio-economic consequences of ill-advised development. This mammoth of a task (of maintaining facilities) is even further complicated by various degrees of local detachment, socially and functionally, and therefore interventions will need to seek alternative ways to facilitate a sort of ‘re-integration’ into the existing urban fabric by a process of land use redefinition and spatial reconfiguration. Such an issue and approach is no different to the Peter Makoba Stadium in Polokwane and therefore this research will utilise the site as a case study in an attempt to discover whether and how urban design can re-integrate such facilities into cities by developing a new image, use and meaning in order for it to more appropriately fit into the local context. The study firstly explored how and why mega-events has been utilised for urban development globally and what the collective experiences have been. A precedent study was then conducted to determine how other cities have dealt with these challenges and to what extent it has been deemed successful. A process of design approach formulation and interpretation was undertaken that ultimately influenced and informed the proposed urban design interventions for the Peter Makoba Sports Precinct. The proposed urban design interventions is however further aligned to the City of Polokwane’s long term development vision and therefore gives spatial expression to forward planning policies in a more coherent and systematic manner. Finally conclusions are drawn from the study that can serve as a guideline for the future design and development of such facilities. This study therefore explores how a new social and economic meaning can be created and attached to and around the stadium and move towards newer, desirable forms of urbanity that can in return feed back into the city itself. / MT2017

Thesis (MTech. degree in Architecture (Professional))--Tshwane University of Technology, 2010. / Major effort and substantial financing has gone into the recent upgrade of South African stadiums, exclusively for the FIFA World Cup 2010. It included building new stadiums, upgrading existing ones and improving infrastructure and services. After the Soccer World Cup, the country is obliged to maintain these very expensive stadiums and the infrastructure. In order to maintain them, it will not be sufficient only to organise events, but it will also require regular daily activities as well as further usage in order for them to be viable in the future. This thesis specifically focuses on the FNB Stadium in Nasrec, Johannesburg, in terms of the context mentioned above. By providing educational and research facilities, the Stadium, the venue and the surrounding area becomes a more diversified and community friendly place. The educational facilities envisaged are intended to accommodate a Soccer Academy.