Loftus Versfeld Stadium
Encyclopedia
Loftus Versfeld Stadium is a rugby
and association football stadium situated in Pretoria
, Gauteng
, South Africa
. The stadium has a capacity of 51,762 for rugby union and hosted the 2009 Currie Cup
final. It is occasionally used for local football matches as well.
In June 2010, the stadium hosted opening round games and one game of the round of 16 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup
.
had become the stadium's name sponsor. Sponsorship was taken over by security giant Securicor, who announced the name Securicor Loftus on 5 February 2003. On the 1st of 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 to a man that had done so much to develop sport in the area. 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.
.
. It hosted the Group B matches USA vs. Italy, USA vs. Brazil and Brazil vs. Italy.
. The floodlights, sound system, scoreboards and stadium roof were improved and, while expected to be finished in August 2008, renovation was completed in January 2009.
franchise the Bulls and was the site of the 2009 Super 14 Final. Loftus is also the home ground of the Blue Bulls
union in South Africa's Currie Cup
.The stadium has currently been upgraded as part of the 2010 World Cup, with new roofing on the eastern stand as well as roads and parking facilities around it
and Robbie Williams
' Close Encounters Tour
on 17 April 2006 with an attendance of over 56,000. 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.
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
and association football stadium situated in Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
, Gauteng
Gauteng
Gauteng is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. It was formed from part of the old Transvaal Province after South Africa's first all-race elections on 27 April 1994...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. The stadium has a capacity of 51,762 for rugby union and hosted the 2009 Currie Cup
Currie Cup
The Currie Cup tournament is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring , featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces...
final. It is occasionally used for local football matches as well.
In June 2010, the stadium hosted opening round games and one game of the round of 16 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
.
History
The stadium was named after Robert Owen Loftus Versfeld, the founder of organized 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 Versfeld. From 11 June 1998 to 4 February 2003 the stadium was officially named Minolta Loftus after MinoltaMinolta
Minolta Co., Ltd. was a Japanese worldwide manufacturer of cameras, camera accessories, photocopiers, fax machines, and laser printers. Minolta was founded in Osaka, Japan, in 1928 as . It is perhaps best known for making the first integrated autofocus 35mm SLR camera system...
had become the stadium's name sponsor. Sponsorship was taken over by security giant Securicor, who announced the name Securicor Loftus on 5 February 2003. On the 1st of September 2005 the renaming process went full circle when cellular provider Vodacom
Vodacom
Vodacom is a pan-African mobile telecommunications company, and was the 1st cellular network in South Africa. It provides GSM service to more than 35 million customers in South Africa, Tanzania, Lesotho, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Revenue for the year ended 31 March 2008...
, taking over sponsorship from Securicor
Securicor
Securicor plc was one of the United Kingdom's largest security businesses. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but merged with Group 4 Falck in 2004.-History:...
, 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 to a man that had done so much to develop sport in the area. 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.
1995 Rugby World Cup
Loftus hosted some matches during the 1995 Rugby World Cup1995 Rugby World Cup
The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country....
.
| Date | Team #1 | Res. | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995-05-26 | 38–10 | Pool D 1995 Rugby World Cup The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country.... |
25,000 | ||
| 1995-05-30 | 41–5 | Pool D 1995 Rugby World Cup The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country.... |
21,000 | ||
| 1995-06-03 | 22–19 | Pool D 1995 Rugby World Cup The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country.... |
40,000 | ||
| 1995-06-11 | 48–30 | Quarter Final | 20,000 | ||
| 1995-06-22 | 19–9 | Third-place play-off | 45,000 |
2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
Loftus was one of the venues for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
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 was played at Ellis Park...
. It hosted the Group B matches USA vs. Italy, USA vs. Brazil and Brazil vs. Italy.
| Date | Time (UTC+2 UTC+2 UTC+02 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +02. In ISO 8601 the associated time would be written as . This time is used in:-Central Africa Time:*Botswana*Burundi*Democratic Republic of the Congo... ) |
Team #1 | Res. | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-06-15 | 20.30 |  USAUnited States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF... |
1–3 |  ItalyItaly national football team The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than... |
Group B 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup Group B Play in Group B of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup completed on 21 June 2009. Brazil won the group, and advanced to the second round, along with United States. Italy and Egypt failed to advance... |
34,341 |
| 2009-06-18 | 16.00 | USA United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF... |
0–3 |  BrazilBrazil national football team The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the... |
Group B 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup Group B Play in Group B of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup completed on 21 June 2009. Brazil won the group, and advanced to the second round, along with United States. Italy and Egypt failed to advance... |
39,617 |
| 2009-06-21 | 20.30 | Italy Italy national football team The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than... |
0–3 | Brazil Brazil national football team The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the... |
Group B 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup Group B Play in Group B of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup completed on 21 June 2009. Brazil won the group, and advanced to the second round, along with United States. Italy and Egypt failed to advance... |
41,195 |
2010 FIFA World Cup
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 Cup2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
. The floodlights, sound system, scoreboards and stadium roof were improved and, while expected to be finished in August 2008, renovation was completed in January 2009.
| Date | Time (UTC+2 UTC+2 UTC+02 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +02. In ISO 8601 the associated time would be written as . This time is used in:-Central Africa Time:*Botswana*Burundi*Democratic Republic of the Congo... ) |
Team #1 | Res. | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-06-13 | 16.00 | Serbia Serbia national football team The Serbia national football team represents Serbia in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia, the governing body for football in Serbia. Serbia's home ground is Stadion Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade and their last head coach was Vladimir Petrović... |
0–1 |  GhanaGhana national football team The Ghana national football team, popularly known as the Black Stars, is the national association football team of Ghana and is controlled by the Ghana Football Association... |
Group D 2010 FIFA World Cup Group D Group D of the 2010 FIFA World Cup began on 13 June and ended on 23 June 2010. The group consisted of Germany, Australia, Serbia and Ghana. Along with Group G, it was considered to be a group of death.... |
38,833 |
| 2010-06-16 | 20.30 |  South AfricaSouth Africa national football team The South Africa national football team represents South Africa in association football and is controlled by the South African Football Association, the governing body for football in South Africa. South Africa's home ground is Soccer City, known as FNB Stadium due to a naming rights deal, in... |
0–3 |  UruguayUruguay national football team The Uruguayan national football team represents Uruguay in international association football and is controlled by the Uruguayan Football Association, the governing body for football in Uruguay. The current head coach is Óscar Tabárez... |
Group A 2010 FIFA World Cup Group A Group A of the 2010 FIFA World Cup began on 11 June and ended on 22 June 2010. The group consisted of France, Mexico, Uruguay and the host nation South Africa. France and South Africa previously met at the 1998 FIFA World Cup; France beat South Africa 3–0. France and Uruguay previously met at the... |
42,658 |
| 2010-06-19 | 20.30 |  CameroonCameroon national football team The Cameroon national football team, nicknamed Les Lions Indomptables , is controlled by the Fédération Camerounaise de Football and is Africa's most successful side in FIFA world cup; having qualified for the FIFA World Cup six times – in 1982, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2010– more than any... |
1–2 |  DenmarkDenmark national football team The Denmark national football team represents Denmark in association football and is controlled by the Danish Football Association , the governing body for the football clubs which are organized under DBU... |
Group E 2010 FIFA World Cup Group E Group E of the 2010 FIFA World Cup began on 14 June and ended on 24 June 2010. The group consisted of the Netherlands, Denmark, Japan and Cameroon. None of these teams have previously met in a World Cup group stage.... |
38,074 |
| 2010-06-23 | 16.00 | USA United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF... |
1–0 |  AlgeriaAlgeria national football team The Algeria national football team , nicknamed الأفنــاك, Les Fennecs , represents Algeria in association football and is controlled by the Fédération Algérienne de Football. Algeria's home ground is the Stade 5 Juillet 1962 in Algiers and their head coach is Vahid Halilhodžić.Algeria has qualified... |
Group C 2010 FIFA World Cup Group C Group C of the 2010 FIFA World Cup began on 12 June and ended on 23 June 2010. The group consisted of England, the United States, Algeria, and Slovenia... |
35,827 |
| 2010-06-25 | 20.30 |  ChileChile national football team The Chilean national football team represents Chile in all major international football competitions. The team is controlled by the Federación de Fútbol de Chile which was established in 1895. They have appeared in eight World Cup tournaments and were hosts of the 1962 FIFA World Cup finishing in... |
1–2 |  SpainSpain national football team The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque... |
Group H 2010 FIFA World Cup Group H Group H of the 2010 FIFA World Cup began on 16 June and ended on 25 June 2010. The group consisted of reigning European champions Spain, Switzerland, Honduras and Chile.... |
41,958 |
| 2010-06-29 | 16.00 |  ParaguayParaguay national football team The Paraguay national football team is controlled by the Paraguayan Football Association and represents Paraguay in men's international football competitions. The team has reached the second round of the World Cup on four occasions . The 2010 trip also featured their first appearance in the... |
0–0 (5–3 PEN) |  JapanJapan national football team The Japan national football team represents Japan in association football and is operated by the Japan Football Association, the governing body for association football in Japan... |
Round of 16 | 36,742 |
Rugby Union
Loftus Versfeld is the home ground of the Super 14Super 14
Super Rugby is the largest and pre-eminent professional Rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere...
franchise the Bulls and was the site of the 2009 Super 14 Final. Loftus is also the home ground of the Blue Bulls
Blue Bulls
The Blue Bulls, for sponsorship reasons known as the Vodacom Blue Bulls, or more popularly by their Afrikaans name die Blou Bulle, are a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament...
union in South Africa's Currie Cup
Currie Cup
The Currie Cup tournament is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring , featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces...
.The stadium has currently been upgraded as part of the 2010 World Cup, with new roofing on the eastern stand as well as roads and parking facilities around it
Concerts
The stadium has hosted many musical events over the past few years including UB40UB40
UB40 are a British reggae/pop band formed in 1978 in Birmingham. The band has placed more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. One of the world's best-selling music artists, UB40 have sold over 70 million records.Their hit singles...
and Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...
' Close Encounters Tour
Close Encounters Tour
The Close Encounters Tour is Robbie Williams' 2006 worldwide concert tour. It kicked off in Durban's ABSA Stadium on 10 April, and ended in Melbourne on 18 December. The tour was a great success financially, with every date selling out the morning the tickets went on sale...
on 17 April 2006 with an attendance of over 56,000. Canadian superstar Celine Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
also performed as part of her Taking Chances Tour
Taking Chances Tour
Taking Chances World Tour is the ninth concert tour by Canadian singer Céline Dion, in support of her 2007 studio albums, D'elles and Taking Chances. The tour marked the return of Dion after performing her groundbreaking show A New Day... in Las Vegas for five years. The tour visited Africa, Asia,...
a two-night stand at the stadium on 16 and 17 February 2008 with a total attendance of about 80,000.
