Give change a chance

IN light of the legal implications surrounding the lease of the Newmarket Stables grounds to Hoy Park Management to develop a soccer academy, Hoy Park is urging residents to give change a chance.

“Robin Sharma’s expression that ‘all change is hard at first, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end’ fairly describes the current process of bringing on line the construction of the Kings Park Soccer Academy and International Training Centre.? It might be difficult to accept by some, but necessary for the benefit of the wider community of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal,” said Carlos Catalino from Hoy Park Management.

He said much noise had been made with regards to the proposed development, led largely by current tenants, the majority of whom, according to Catalino, are not contributing a single cent to the eThekwini Municipality coffers.

He said the Kings Park Project had received wide support due to its potential to create permanent jobs for a wider community.

The facility is an international training centre that will house a soccer academy, an international training centre with a medical centre, high performance centre, hydrotherapy section, gym, club house, dining area and auditorium, a 4/5 star hotel, budget accommodation and sports fields (soccer fields, natural and artificial, and an artificial rugby field.)

“These will enable Durban to have an all-in one world class sports centre that will attract local, national and international teams and athletes, thus driving the important industry of tourism, which is a major economic contributor to the City and provincial coffers,” he said.

The construction will further contribute to the creation of the jobs.

Sport is a major contributor to job creation, from participants salaries and endorsements, to all the other industries that support sport. Gone are the days that sport was only a form of entertainment. Now, it plays different positive roles from nation building to job creation. The majority of athletes and players are bread-winners for their families and in some instances, extended families,” said Catalino.

He said government had pledged to support the construction of some elements within the facility, and the rest would be funded from private and public partnerships. The project would utilise its financial sustainability model, to ensure that minimum support was required from government.

“With regards to current tenants, the Kings Park area is a sports precinct that needs to be fully utilised for the benefit of the wider sporting community. There are plenty of places that can house a flea market that is utilised three times a week by select traders, a majority of whom are gainfully employed elsewhere. The same applies to horse riding, which is a business run by an individual and not the Equestrian Society, as has been widely punted. Surely, in accepting and operating on month-to-month lease agreements from the municipality, tenants had prepared for alternative facilities as they knew they would be given a month’s notice to vacate premises? It was only a matter of time before they received eviction notices whether to make way for this development or another one,” said Catalino.

He said given the dilapidated state of the facility, with some areas already being condemned, there was no doubt that the Kings Park area was in desperate need of a major revamp that would turn it into a world class sports precinct. He said hosting of the Commonwealth Games in 2022 provided great opportunity for Durban to create an enabling environment not only for athletes to prepare, but for national and international visitors.