Stadium Management of South Africa (SMSA) is in talks with Prasa to get trains to transport football fans to Orlando Stadium to alleviate the traffic gridlock experienced by supporters in recent Premier Soccer League games at the venue.
Thousands of football fans, mainly those supporting Orlando Pirates, missed their club’s 2-1 win over AmaZulu FC in Orlando last Friday because they were stuck on the Soweto Highway — one of the main routes leading to the stadium.
Bertie Grobbelaar, CEO of SMSA, which operates the facility, said they were aware of the troubles football fans go through when trying to get to Orlando Stadium, especially for matches played in midweek.
“It is (a railway line) not utilised fully yet, but Prasa are going to run trains for the matches at Orlando Stadium. There’s going to be an announcement very soon and we need to mark that date as an opportunity because there’s not enough parking around the stadium. We should all focus as a collective to find a way to smoothen the experience of fans going to the venue,” said Grobbelaar.
“Just imagine if a third of spectators to Orlando take a train, a third of vehicles are off the road. It’s not a thing that you’re going to snap your fingers and fix but it needs to be addressed. What is good is that the club, city and JMPD are all involved in crafting a plan that speaks to solving the traffic there.”
I’ve been stuck for an hour in this traffic and now the match is about to finish. What must I do with my ticket?
— A frustrated fan
Grobbelaar added the Soweto Highway gets congested easily on a Friday night, especially when a match coincides with payday when many people are on the streets.
“Friday games, with a team performing as well as Pirates are, are definitely a challenge. But again I plead with the supporters, especially those not coming from work, to assist by arriving three hours before kick-off. If 50% of the fans arrive one hour before the time, you’re going to have issues.”
The Sunday Times spoke to football fans who regretted going to the Pirates-AmaZulu game.
“I’ve been stuck for an hour in this traffic and now the match is about to finish. What must I do with my ticket? And what about the petrol I used coming here,” asked a disappointed Themba Sithole (35) from Tembisa. He knocked off work in Kempton Park at 5pm before driving to catch the match which kicked off at 7.30pm.
JMPD superintendent and spokesperson Xolani Fihla reiterated what Grobbelaar says about fans giving themselves time to get to Orlando.
“Unfortunately that main road, which is the Klipspruit valley road situated right near the stadium, we can’t close it. We find that midweek games are when the biggest congestion takes place because some people are coming back from work while others are going to the stadium. One of the other main roads, Mooki Road, needs to be closed for safety reasons when there’s a big game.
“The challenge is that no matter how many boots we put on the ground, with the number of entrances (two main) that we have, we still have the challenge of traffic (in Orlando). The congestion has nothing to do with the planning, but it’s the dynamics around where the stadium is situated. Our message to the supporters is that you can avoid the traffic by coming three hours before the game starts,” Fihla said.
While football fans have been experiencing difficulties in accessing some venues around the country, there’s a perception that traffic is better controlled when it comes to other big sporting codes like rugby and cricket.
Pieter Burger, general manager at Ellis Park, told the Sunday Times that they plan well in advance of big events; and besides having JMPD officers they spend a lot of money on private security.
Burger added that one of the reasons they hosted an incident-free Rugby Championship Test between the Springboks and New Zealand in August this year, was the partnership they had with Prasa, which transported more than 14,000 fans to the venue.
“Predominantly you don’t want the bulk of the people on the stands coming in through their own transport. Luckily we have four main access routes to the stadium, which is a lot more than other facilities have got.
“Park and ride also alleviates a lot of traffic from the roads. For the Test we had about 12 pick-up points with dedicated security around them where people get dropped off. But the biggest game changer was our work in conjunction with Prasa opening their old Ellis Park Station which was not opened in ages. It’s a direct link with the Gautrain, and was cost and time effective for the fans. We managed to move just over 14,000 people. The revamp of Park Station made a lot of difference,” said Burger.
The poor management of traffic around football venues not only leads to people with tickets not getting in, but also affects the psychological preparations of the players.
“When players get told that the match is likely to be delayed for 30 minutes, it deflates them. If they (fans) could just come early...” urged Mamelodi Sundowns assistant coach Steve Komphela this week ahead of their sold-out Carling Knockout Cup clash against Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium on Saturday.
Chiefs’ league meeting against Sundowns last month was delayed for 30 minutes due to fans arriving late at Soccer City.
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