The Story of Soccer City- a Stadium.

A Description :

Soccer city, the flagship stadium of the 2010 South African Soccer World Cup. Standing in the centre of Soweto Johannesburg, it represents more than just a stadium. For many, it is a dream. In the midst of a land sick with the woes of historical prejudice and suffering, it is a bountiful place where the joy of the game pulls through. Though it’s journey to achieve this status was a unique one. It was a dream, that became a reality.

Construction:

Built on the site of Nelson Mandela’s first post-release speech, a momentous occasion in South Africa’s history. The original stadium, dubbed, FNB stadium ( FNB standing for, First National Bank, presumably a sponsor of the stadium), had a capacity of 80,000 and was comparatively plain in appearance. But when the 2010 FIFA World Cup was awarded to South Africa, everybody knew they needed something more. And an upgrade of Soccer City was commissioned, South Africa’s premier stadium was about to become world class.

Architects designed it to resemble that of an African Pot ,or, in native, the Calabash. According to the firm who put together the stadium, hypothetically speaking, it is a melting pot of the worlds cultures as one. It’s redesigned outer shell was adorned with a fiery collage of mosaics made up of eight colors and various textures. Designed to resemble a burning fire creeping up the pot. The seating capacity was also boosted to over 94,000, making it the largest stadium in all of Africa. Surpassing the capacity of even the famous Wembley Arena.

A uniquely envisioned aspect of the stadium was its thoughtfulness on the part of the spectator, working out so that no fan was seated more than 100m from the playing pitch. Yet another never before seen idea practised within the monolific structure of Soccer City is the seating coordination. The plain sea of red is penetrated by ten black lines. Nine of which arer geographically aligned with the remaining host stadiums. The tenth, pointing directly to the Berlin Olympic stadium, the previous frontier for the 2006 World Cup. 

On Wednesday, the 21 of October 2009. After 2 years of anticipation and nervous wait, some 500 million dollars later. Soccer City was completed.

- Post Cup

After early worries about inconsistency and possible mismanagement of the cup, it was a huge success, with large crowds turning out to watch all matches. In the end, the critics favorite, Spain, triumphed. Though, even as they put in a valiant effort, i can't say the same for my home team ,Australia. :(

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