The post-event function of world cup stadia as contribution to the 2010 Fifa World Cup legacy

Abstract

In today’s sport environment, a mega event such as the FIFA World Cup involves major costs for the hosts, and high demands for all organizing stakeholders in order to ensure successful implementation. Despite the opportunity cost, this poses for the hosting country, bidding for these events remain highly competitive due to the perceived benefits of staging this event. Analyses show that new stadia are often built for the event and these require long-term planning and sustainable use in order to be operated successfully. Problematically, stadia that succumb to the challenges of operational and maintenance costs are referred to as ‘white elephants’. Successful stadia are those with good legacy plans that are geared towards the realization of positive long-term benefits. As owners of the stadia after a major football tournament such as the FIFA World Cup 2010, Local Municipalities face the challenge of ensuring that the stadiums remain sustainable after the event as well as covering the costs of maintaining the facilities. Therefore it is vital to know the function of the stadia. This study explores the perceptions of Local Municipalities on the World Cup stadia contribution towards the legacy of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The study poses the following research question: How do facility managers at Local Municipalities in South Africa perceive the function of the 2010 FIFA World Cup stadia as part of the legacy of the tournament?