World Cup 2010 Stadiums: Loftus
Versfeld Stadium (Pretoria)
Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
With competitive sports events having been played on the site of
the Loftus Versfeld Stadium since 1903, it is one of the oldest
sporting venues in South Africa.
The stadium is named after Robert Owen Loftus Versfeld, the founder
of organised sport in Pretoria,
who died in 1932. Despite a number of naming rights deals over the
years with Vodacom and Securicor, the Loftus Versfeld has always
remained the name locals use to refer to the ground.
The Loftus Versfeld was a venue for both the Rugby World Cup in
1995 and the African Cup of Nations in 1996. It was the venue in
which South Africa first won a football match against European opposition
- vs Sweden in 1999. The stadium has also hosted many musical events
with the likes of UB40, Robbie Williams and Celine Dion having performed
here in the past.

Minimal upgrading was needed to prepare the 51,762 stadium for
the 2010 World Cup. Floodlights, the stadium sound system, scoreboards
and roof have all been improved but no changes have been made to
the actual structure of the ground. Group stage and second round
matches are to take place here, including a South Africa match on
16th June 2010.
Stadium Access
Park and Ride facilities will be operation across Pretoria for
the World Cup. Such sites include Pretoria Technical High School,
on the corner of Wessels and Park Streets with space for 460 vehicles
and Pretoria Sport Union, located at the intersection of Totius
Street and Queen Wilhelmina Avenue in Lukasrand, with space for
700 vehicles.
Supporters can also use a special pedestrian walkway to get to
the from the city to the stadium via Lynnwood Road at Roper or Park
Streets. The walkway leads to 11 sets of turnstiles which access
the North, South and East stands.
The nearest airport is OR Tambo Airport which is approximately
50km away from Pretoria. Or Tambo Airport is the busiest airport
in South Africa. Over 17 million customers pass through the airport
every year - a figure expected to rise to 24m a year by 2015, following
a recent expansion. There are five flights
from OR Tambo Airport to London everyday.

See an access
map to the stadium
Accommodation: hotels
Check our listings for World
Cup 2010 hotel accommodation in the venue cities and other locations
and book your hotel online.
South Africa World Cup Tours
Partner with Soccerphile to provide World Cup 2010 World Cup tours
and safaris.
See
Our South African Tours
World Cup Weather in South Africa
Weather forecasts for South Africa
during World Cup 2006. Temperatures, rainfall, humidity, wind
speeds and 10-day forecasts. |