Cape Town - The City of Cape Town on Tuesday announced that a consortium of Sail Group and Stade de France has been selected as the preferred bidder to operate the 2010 FIFA World Cup stadium in Green Point, after the world cup.

Sail is the largest sport management company in South Africa, while Stade de France is an 80 000-seater stadium in France and one of the most successful and lucrative facilities of its kind.

A contract with the consortium will be negotiated by the end of October and once a contract is signed, the operator will be involved before the world cup to ensure detailed design, planning and a seamless handover from FIFA at the end of the tournament.

He said they offered extensive experience and a successful track record in sport marketing, stadium operations and events programmes.

Mr Marsden said this combination of international and local expertise is exactly what they were hoping for, adding that they were confident of concluding a comprehensive agreement with them soon.

He further said a bid was also received from Investec Bank for both the naming and operator rights for the stadium, but the bid did not meet the tender requirements.

According to Mr Marsden, the city is of the view that it would be more beneficial to offer the naming rights of the stadium once the operator is in place with a defined events programme

In the meantime, a new bypass road was opened near the stadium on Tuesday.

City's Director for Roads and Storm Water, Henry du Plessis said in a statement that the new intersection linked the Western Boulevard to Main Road and to Bill Peters Drive.

He said this was proof that the Granger Bay Boulevard project was on track and that it would be completed on time. The project includes the reconstruction of the Green Point traffic circle to allow pedestrians to cross under the elevated circle.

To facilitate the construction of the new traffic circle, traffic had to be diverted via a temporary bypass road.

The old link from the existing Green Point Circle to Main Road opposite York Street has now been closed to allow the new bypass road to be completed.

Mr du Plessis said additional signs to guide motorists are also being erected.

He said the bypass will be opened to traffic next Friday and the existing traffic circle will then be removed to make way for the new elevated one.

"Road users should take particular care in using the new intersections and the bypass until they are familiar with their new routes," Mr du Plessis said, thanking residents for their cooperation during phase of the construction of the Granger Bay Boulevard.

Source: BuaNews