Hosting the Rugby Championship clash between the Springboks and New Zealand at the Mbombela Stadium on Saturday is expected to inject hundreds of millions of rand into the local economy.
The city has been gripped by rugby fever as the Boks take on bitter rivals the All Blacks in this hugely anticipated match at sold-out Mbombela Stadium on Saturday. The two teams go into the clash on the back of contrasting results last month, with the Boks beating Wales 2-1 in SA while the All Blacks lost their series to Ireland by a similar margin at home.
City of Mbombela spokesperson Joseph Ngala said hosting a match of such magnitude — just the second time an SA vs NZ clash has been played outside SA’s major metropoles — brings a significant boost to the economy of Mpumalanga — running into hundreds of millions. Figures of about R250m and more have been spoken of.
“We are very busy — in the inner city there is no bed and breakfast accommodation as it’s fully booked. In neighbouring towns like Barberton and Hazyview, there is also no accommodation available.
“People are going as far as Lydenburg [Mashishing] to find a place to stay — it is not the city alone but the whole province that is abuzz. We are very excited because the hospitality industry, which was hit hard by Covid-19, will get a booster shot from this.”
Ngala said it was difficult to put a figure on the amount — “but it’s significant”.
“Without a doubt, it runs into hundreds of millions, even though we don’t have a figure at the moment. We can arrive at a specific figure only when the dust has settled.”
As the match approaches, the Pumas Rugby Union says preparations are on schedule.
“The last time we hosted a Springbok match at the stadium was in 2016 against Argentina,” said Pumas CEO Marius van Rensburg.
“Before that it was in 2014 when we hosted Wales and in 2013 when we had a double-header with Samoa playing Italy and the Springboks against Scotland in Siya Kolisi’s debut.
“We have had a few Test matches but nothing as big as this. This is huge for us. To be honest, there are a few positive things that will come out of this for Mbombela and the lowveld.
“This is a massive boost. You can phone around and there is no accommodation. For the locals to see a contest between the Boks and the All Blacks is a huge thing. I’m not sure we'll get a Test like this again in the near future.
“We had a discussion it with the Mbombela municipality and they are happy about this, and for us as a union there will definitely be a financial injection that we will use.”
The test director for the stadium, George Stainton, said logistics are in place for a successful event.
“The economic benefits to the region are huge, and this is good because Mbombela is a city that relies on hospitality and tourism, and this is a catalyst for us to up our game.
“You can’t get a room all the way to Barberton and White River. From a logistical perspective, Covid-19 had a huge impact on us and to return to the stadium and sell the tickets when initially we didn’t know how many people we were going to have to accommodate was a challenge.
“You had to sell tickets, but you had to put some on reservation because we didn’t know if we could allow more people. So from the moment we knew we could have 100% [after government restrictions on attendances at stadium were relaxed], the double logistics of having to sell the reserved tickets took time — but it’s an absolutely sold-out affair for the first time in a long time.
“We have created a transportation plan that involves 100 double-decker buses that will be operating park and rides, and we want to move 25,000 people through that strategy.”
