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Ellis Park Stadium, in the heart of Joburg, will be a venue for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. In 2010 it will host five round matches, a second round match and a quarter-final in the World Cup tournament.
IN June and July 2009, Ellis Park will be the most important venue for the FIFA Confederations Cup South Africa 2009™, with the opening ceremony and final game taking place there. And in 2010, the stadium is earmarked to host five first round matches, a second round match and one of the quarter-finals for the World Cup. Ellis Park will be ready well in advance of the Festival of Champions, as the Confederations Cup is affectionately known. It is expected upgrades to the stadium will be completed in November 2008, while Soccer City will be finished in May 2009. "We are very happy with the progress on Ellis Park and on Soccer City. It's really exciting to see how fast things are moving. Every time I visit the stadiums progress is visible," confirmed Sibongile Mazibuko, the City's executive director for 2010. Mazibuko is responsible for co-ordinating and implementing the City's 2010 programme, and was speaking on 24 July 2008 after touring the stadiums. Some months earlier, on 18 February 2008, Mazibuko said: "The Ellis Park precinct will move to the usage stage very soon. Construction of transport infrastructure and upgrading of local neighbourhoods is taking shape and we are confident that come 2009, everything will be ready for the Confederations Cup.” While Soccer City is a completely new construction, Ellis Park stadium is getting a major revamp for the World Cup. Building started in July 2007 and is now nearing completion, with final fittings in progress. These include tiling and improvements to the foyer areas as well as new change rooms and toilet blocks. The major changes are a completely new, five-level car park and additional seating. There are three projects involved, explains Rod Pearce, the deputy director: project management: legacy in the City’s 2010 unit. They are:
Most members of the public will enter through the new north entrance; the west entrance will be mainly for the media and VIPs. The new car park will have 1 200 parking bays. The emergency tunnel is also being widened considerably. Ellis Park will seat 62 000 football fans, increasing its capacity by almost nine percent from the previous 57 000. There will also be a line of disabled-friendly seats on the east and south stands, with access straight from the vomitorium. Work is already 90 percent finished, with completion of the seating, roof and internal improvements expected at the end of September 2008. The parking lot will be completed at the end of the year. The stadium has to be ready by January 2009, for use in the 2009 cup. The buttressing of the parkade and northern area was completed early in January this year. All the lighting within the stadium was also replaced in June. While the changes are significant, the upgrades are mainly to the internal structure and will be seen by players, VIPs and the like. Besides the new seating, façade and roof on the north stand and the new parkade, Ellis Park will look much the same to fans who have been watching matches there for years. A stage has also been added to the bottom of the north stand for other events. Beautification of the area is also being undertaken, making it fan friendly and easing the flow of pedestrian traffic. In total, R240-million is being spent on the changes; R10-million of this comes from the City, with the balance coming from the national Treasury. The biggest expense is the parking garage. The City of Johannesburg owns the land on which Ellis Park is built; it is on a long-lease arrangement, managed by a private company, Ellis Park World of Sport. It is one of five stadiums that are being upgraded for the World Cup, along with Soccer City, also in Johannesburg, Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg, Vodacom Park Stadium in Bloemfontein, and Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria. Five stadiums are being built – in Cape Town (Greenpoint Stadium), Port Elizabeth (Nelson Mandela Bay Multipurpose Sports Facility), Durban (Moses Mabhida Stadium), Nelspruit (Mataffin Stadium) and Polokwane (Peter Mokaba Stadium). The 10 stadiums will together seat more than 570 000 people.
Upgrades 
Work in progress, May 2008
Regeneration is taking the form of a multi-developmental project, with plans focusing on education, sports and manufacturing across Ellis Park and its neighbouring suburbs of Doornfontein, Bertrams, Bezuidenhout Valley, Troyeville, Judith's Paarl and Lorentzville. The multi-billion rand transformation of the area is expected to reverse inner city decline and attract investment. Business offices and the commercial and light industrial areas in Doornfontein, New Doornfontein, Troyeville and Lorentzville will also get a facelift, while the adjacent residential areas of Judith's Paarl, Bez Valley and Bertrams have been hooked into the proposed developments. The Doornfontein and Ellis Park railway stations will be upgraded to cope with the expected increase in visitors and a new 20 metre-wide subway at the Ellis Park Station is to be constructed at a cost of over R26-million. Joburg also plans to extend its Better Buildings Programme - a project aimed at fixing up city slums - to the Greater Ellis Park area. The greater Ellis Park precinct is home to three international sports complexes - Johannesburg Stadium, Ellis Park Stadium and an Olympic-size swimming pool. 
Construction continues in June 2008
Funding
Host cities and provinces are also making contributions to stadium construction and supporting infrastructure development. Costs are to be kept to a minimum, and innovative construction will ensure stadiums are versatile and cost-effective.
The City's plans for the precinct (Click on the image for a larger view)
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Joburg speaks out
Jozi residents talk about their city, the 2010 build-up, their favourite places.
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