This town aint big enough for the both of us.
"Coca Cola Park (Current name of Ellis Park) will remain the home of the MTN Golden Lions. We must now focus on rugby and build on our strong Currie Cup season. We have fantastic rugby matches coming to Coca Cola Park and look forward to seeing the home of the MTN Golden Lions packed to capacity on a regular basis" Golden Lions Rugby Union President Kevin De Klerk said
The issue of a home for the Golden Lions rugby has been made difficult ever since the announcements that soccer city would be rebuilt for the FIFA world cup 2010, and have persisted as the venue successfully hosted both the Currie Cup final and an international Tri Nations match between the Springboks and New Zealand.
Johannesburg remains the base of sport in South Africa and boasts, in Soccer City and Ellis Park, at least two stadiums of international quality. The problem however is one of underutilisation, a problem that the city of Johannesburg has tried to address by centralising all sport around its flagship Soccer City stadium. Soccer remains only partly committed to the stadiums and it was hoped that the Lions move to Soccer City would ensure the future use of the stadium and provide the Lions franchise with a new start; way from the allegations of maladministration, racism and lack of transformation levelled at the Lions franchise and De Klerk specifically, in a location which better reflects Johannesburg as a "true African city".
Does this prove a lack of transformation and change in the Lions Union? Should they stick with the stadium for history’s sake? Or are they simply resisting selling themselves and their fans to commercialism?
Tell us below.
In : Rugby