This article needs to be updated.(November 2010) |
Full name | Loftus Versfeld Stadium |
---|---|
Former names | Minolta Loftus, Securicor Loftus |
Location | 440 Kirkness Street, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa |
Coordinates | 25°45′12″S28°13′22″E / 25.75333°S 28.22278°E |
Public transit | Hatfield (Gautrain station) |
Owner | Blue Bulls Rugby Union Mamelodi Sundowns |
Capacity | 51,762 |
Surface | Grass |
Construction | |
Broke ground | 1905 |
Built | 1906–1923 |
Opened | 1923 |
Renovated | 1977 |
Expanded | 2008 |
Tenants | |
Blue Bulls (Currie Cup) Bulls (United Rugby Championship) Mamelodi Sundowns F.C. (PSL) | |
Website | |
bullsrugby |
Loftus Versfeld Stadium is a rugby union and association football stadium situated in the suburb of Arcadia, city of Pretoria in the Gauteng province of South Africa. [1] The stadium can accommodate 51,762 spectators.
The stadium is the home ground of the Bulls franchise of the United Rugby Championship, Blue Bulls union in South Africa's Currie Cup and African Football league champions Mamelodi Sundowns It also hosted the 2009 Super 14 Final which the Bulls won 61–17 against the Waikato Chiefs, the 2009 Currie Cup final, which the Bulls won 36–24 against the Free State Cheetahs, and the 2024 United Rugby Championship final, which the Bulls lost 16–21 to the Glasgow Warriors.
Also, the South Africa national rugby union team has played several test matches at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium. They played New Zealand in 1970, 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2006, Australia in 1967, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2010, 2012 and 2023, England in 1994, 2000 and 2007, and Ireland in 1998 and 2024.
In June 2010, the stadium hosted opening round games and one game of the round of 16 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
The stadium is located at an altitude of 1,350m above sea level. [2]
The stadium was named after Robert Loftus Owen Versfeld, the founder of organised sports in Pretoria. Through the years the stadium has undergone various name changes as sponsors came and went, though locals have always referred to the stadium as Loftus. From 11 June 1998 to 4 February 2003 the stadium was officially named Minolta Loftus after Minolta became the stadium's name sponsor. Sponsorship was taken over by security giant Securicor, who announced the name Securicor Loftus on 5 February 2003. On 1 September 2005 the renaming process went full circle when cellular provider Vodacom, taking over sponsorship from Securicor, renamed the stadium back to the original Loftus Versfeld.
The site of the stadium was first used for sports in 1906, and the field was simply called the Eastern Sports Ground. The first concrete structure was erected there by the City Council in 1923. The original structure could only accommodate 2000 spectators and did not have proper sports facilities.
In 1928, mostly because of the All Blacks tour to South Africa that year, the Pretoria sub-union made a large profit which they used to erect changing rooms and toilets.
When Mr Loftus Versfeld died suddenly in May 1932 the Pretoria sub-union renamed the Eastern Sports Ground after him as a tribute. The stadium has been known as Loftus Versfeld Stadium ever since. It has been upgraded on several occasions, most recently in 1984, when the Northern Pavilion received an upgrade.
Loftus hosted some matches during the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
Date | Team 1 | Result | Team 2 | Round | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
26 May 1995 | France | 38–10 | Tonga | Pool D | 25,000 |
30 May 1995 | Scotland | 41–5 | Tonga | Pool D | 21,000 |
3 June 1995 | France | 22–19 | Scotland | Pool D | 40,000 |
11 June 1995 | New Zealand | 48–30 | Scotland | Quarter-finals | 20,000 |
22 June 1995 | France | 19–9 | England | Third-place play-off | 45,000 |
Loftus Versfeld was one of the venues for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. [3] It hosted the Group B matches: USA vs. Italy, USA vs. Brazil and Brazil vs. Italy. [4]
Date | Time (SAST) | Team 1 | Result | Team 2 | Round | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
15 June 2009 | 20:30 | United States | 1–3 | Italy | Group B | 34,341 |
18 June 2009 | 16:00 | 0–3 | Brazil | 39,617 | ||
21 June 2009 | 20:30 | Italy | 0–3 | 41,195 |
Minimal upgrading was undertaken in order for Loftus Versfeld to qualify as a venue for first and second round matches for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. [5] [6] The floodlights, sound system, scoreboards and stadium roof were improved, as roads and parking facilities around it. [5] [7] While expected to be finished in August 2008, [5] renovation was completed in January 2009. [8]
Date | Time (SAST) | Team 1 | Result | Team 2 | Round | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
13 June 2010 | 16:00 | Serbia | 0–1 | Ghana | Group D | 38,833 |
16 June 2010 | 20:30 | South Africa | 0–3 | Uruguay | Group A | 42,658 |
19 June 2010 | 20:30 | Cameroon | 1–2 | Denmark | Group E | 38,074 |
23 June 2010 | 16:00 | United States | 1–0 | Algeria | Group C | 35,827 |
25 June 2010 | 20:30 | Chile | 1–2 | Spain | Group H | 41,958 |
29 June 2010 | 16:00 | Paraguay | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (5–3 pen.) | Japan | Round of 16 | 36,742 |
The stadium has hosted many musical events including concerts by UB40 and Robbie Williams' Close Encounters Tour on 17 April 2006 with an attendance of over 60,000. Canadian superstar Celine Dion also performed as part of her Taking Chances Tour a two-night stand at the stadium on 16 and 17 February 2008 with a total attendance of about 80,000.
For the 1999 staging of Verdi's Aida , a cast of 100's (locally selected extras) formed the backing for international musicians and singers.
On 20 October 1979, South African heavyweight boxer Gerrie Coetzee challenged the unbeaten American heavyweight John Tate for the vacant WBA World Heavyweight title in front of a crowd of 80,000 people. Despite massive support within the stadium Coetzee lost on points to the American. Expensive ring side seats for spectators were laid out flat on the rugby pitch, while fans seated on the stadium's (backward) steel pavilions had to do with binoculars to follow the action.
Between 1956 and 1959 six first-class cricket matches were played at the stadium. [9]
The Bulls are a South African professional rugby union team based in Pretoria. They play their home matches at Loftus Versfeld. They compete in the United Rugby Championship, having competed in the Super Rugby competition until 2020. Prior to 1998, the Bulls competed in the then-Super 12 as Northern Transvaal, as in those years South Africa was represented in the competition by its top four Currie Cup sides from the previous season, instead of the modern Super Rugby teams.
The Golden Lions are a South African professional rugby union team based in Johannesburg who compete in the annual Currie Cup and Rugby Challenge.
Rainbow Junction is a development project in Pretoria, South Africa. The development, having evolved over a number of years, comprises plans for a mixed-use development of some 550,000 square meters of commercial property developments over a 140 hectare greenfield site. This project presents itself as a new urban core in the northern parts of the city - "The New Business Gateway to Africa".
The Blue Bulls is a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament and the United Rugby Championship. They are governed by the Blue Bulls Rugby Union and are based at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, Gauteng province.
Orlando Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Soweto, a township in Johannesburg, in Gauteng province in South Africa. It is the home venue for Orlando Pirates Football Club, a professional soccer team that plays in the Premier Soccer League and owned by the City of Johannesburg.
HM Pitje Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Mamelodi, a suburb of the City of Tshwane, South Africa. It is used mostly for football matches and was utilized as a training field for teams participating in the 2010 FIFA World Cup after being renovated in 2009 and brought up to FIFA standards. Mamelodi Sundowns stopped using the stadium for its home games long before renovations. The Team management moved the team to loftus versfeld. The previous owners tried by all means to detach the team to the people of Mamelodi by changing the team from Mamelodi Sundowns to just Sundowns.
Derick Hougaard, more commonly known as the 'Liefling van Loftus' is a South African professional rugby union player who played for Leicester Tigers and Saracens in England. He normally played at flyhalf. Hougaard played for the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup competition in South Africa and the Bulls in the international Super Rugby competition.
The Free State Cheetahs, currently named the Toyota Free State Cheetahs due to sponsorship reasons, are a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament. They are governed by the Free State Rugby Union and are based at the 48,000 capacity Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein. The Cheetahs have won the Currie Cup six times, with five of the wins coming since 2005, including winning the cup three times consecutively from 2005 to 2007. Since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, they have been considered one of South Africa's "Big 5" provincial rugby Unions.
The 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup was the eighth Confederations Cup, and was held in South Africa from 14 June to 28 June 2009, as a prelude to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The draw was held on 22 November 2008 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. The opening match and the final was played at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg. The tournament was won by Brazil, who retained the trophy they won in 2005 by defeating the United States 3–2 in the final.
Danie Coetzee is a South African rugby union footballer. His usual position is at hooker, and he has played for the Springboks. He played for the Bulls in the international Super 12 competition as well as the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup, and played for London Irish for five seasons between 2005 and 2010, retiring in 2010.
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Robert Loftus Owen Versfeld was a South African rugby union player and administrator who was a founding member of the Eastern Province Rugby Union and of the Pretoria Rugby Subunion (1908) which in 1938 became Northern Transvaal. He founded Pretoria Rugby Club in 1888, and established Pretoria rugby headquarters at Eastern Sports Grounds. He introduced grass playing fields to the Transvaal.
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