Newlands to go under the hammer as SA Rugby and WP push final sale

The famous Newlands rugby stadium in Cape Town will be placed on the market in a sealed bidding process, SA Rugby announced on Thursday.

Newlands was left vacant when the Stormers and Western Province relocated to the Cape Town Stadium in Green Point last year, ending a 130-year association with the iconic ground.

According to the statement, Western Rugby Football Union (WPRFU) administrator Rian Oberholzer "has retained an external consultancy to ensure the process is transparent and judged entirely on commercial merits."

Entities wishing to pursue an interest in bidding may request details of the property and the terms and conditions of the bidding process from Galetti (Pty) Limited. 

"This is the cleanest, fairest and most transparent method by which to hopefully secure the sale of Newlands to assist in the long-term sustainability of the Union," said an SA Rugby spokesperson. 

"We are now in a position where we can proceed to a sale, having taken some time to understand and untangle the various sale conversations that had taken place."

It’s not the first time a deal has been brokered under the name of WPRFU.

The union was previously embroiled in a bitter fight with Flyt Property Investment who claimed "damages" from the union (WPRFU) over the reneging on an agreement signed in 2020.

The deal was being struck for the intended development of the Newlands and other properties owned by the WPRFU.

Flyt said that the WPRFU approached them seeking a R112-million loan to settle looming debts and to conclude a development agreement in June 2020.

At the time, they [WPRFU] had outstanding repayment obligations to Investec and Remgro for R112 million that were due.

There was more optimism from SA Rugby regarding the new plan with the