The renovated Oval sports ground was officially opened at a grand event organised by Makana Municipality last Thursday.
The renovated Oval sports ground was officially opened at a grand event organised by Makana Municipality last Thursday.
About 900 community members, sports councils, players and children came out to celebrate the reinstatement of the Oval sports grounds last Thursday. After years of neglect, and three years after the project had been mooted, the clubhouse was renovated, a new playground, basketball and netball courts built and the caretaker's residence upgraded, as part of a R5 million project that included improved facilities at Lavender Valley. A new park with braai facilities and a play park were also built.
Makana Speaker Rachel Madinda-Isaac opened the event, which saw the Brumbies Rugby Club players hard at training in the background, with hundreds of excited children playing around the field.
Ward 3 Councillor Marcelle Booysen said she believed sport brought the nation together.
We are really happy for the re-opening of the Oval, and also for the play park. I urge parents to please not send your kids alone to the play park. Accompany your child and monitor them, Booysen said.
We are getting a new stadium and a park with braai stands and basketball/netball courts, so please look after our facilities and respect them.
President of South Eastern District Rugby Union and chairperson of Makana sports council, Simphiwo Baninzi, emphasised that the facilities belonged to everyone. We are planning to have a successful Easter Tournament, he said.
Makana Mayor Zamuxolo Peter, who delivered the keynote address, said he was thrilled with the state of the field and facilities.
Peter started off by recalling the 1995 rugby world cup final in South Africa, where former President Nelson Mandela, wearing the number 6 Springbok jersey, brought the nation closer. He said, in a similar way, the people of Makana must make their mark.
This facility will go down in history as making a change for our people, Peter said, pleading for the community to look after the new facilities.
I want to come back and sit here and watch rugby one day, Peter said.
Maasdorp Cannon, President of Brumbies, who at last have a home ground again, said the Brumbies' aim was to build a strong community club, provide leadership to other clubs and not to look down on them.
