Kings Park Sporting Precinct is a site located in Stamford Hill, Durban

Durban

Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...

, KwaZulu Natal, 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...

. It was developed primarily to host 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...

, but will also form part of the city's long term plan to host the Summer Olympics. The precinct regularly hosts domestic and international rugby union

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 events, as well as national and international swimming galas.

The Kings Park Sporting Precinct is managed by the City of Durban.

Recent developments

The Moses Mabhida Stadium was completed in 2009 and involved massive regeneration of the surrounding infrastructure. This included the construction of a pedestrian walkway under NMR Avenue to Oasis/Country Club Beach in the east. This walkway links the stadium to the Golden Mile beachfront. In terms of cultural facilities, the stadium will also contain a sports museum, a multi-media centre and a sports science institute operated by the University of KwaZulu Natal. Walter Gilbert Road, which is situated between Moses Mabhida and Kings Park

Kings Park Stadium

Kings Park , is a stadium in the Kings Park Sporting Precinct in Durban, South Africa, which was originally built in 1891 and extensively renovated in the 1990s...

, is closed and pedestrianised during large events.

Events

Currently, events held in the precinct are dominated by athletics, rugby, and soccer. The precinct also hosts aquatic events at the Kings Park Aquatics Centre, and previously hosted the A1 Grand Prix

A1 Grand Prix

A1 Grand Prix was a 'single make' open-wheel auto racing series. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as opposed to themselves or a team, the usual format in most formula racing series. As such, it was often promoted as the "World Cup of Motorsport"...

 (the only street circuit

Durban street circuit

The Durban street circuit is a temporary street circuit located in Durban, South Africa which is 300 metres from Durban's North Beach and 800 metres from Durban's CBD. It was used for the A1 Grand Prix from 2005 to 2008...

 in the series). the precinct also serves as part of the routes for the Spar 10 km Ladies Race, East Coast Radio Big Walk and many functions at the Suncoast Casino and Entertainment World

Suncoast Casino and Entertainment World

Suncoast Casino and Entertainment World is situated at the northern end of Durban's Golden Mile, adjacent to the Kings Park Sporting Precinct. Besides the casino, the complex houses many restaurants, a beach bar, cinemas and its own semi-private beach, which was rated as one of the top 3 beaches in...

.

Facilities

The Kings Park Sporting Precinct currently has the capability to host 42 Olympic Codes and is just under 2 km from Sahara Kingsmead Cricket Stadium and the Greyville Racecourse

Greyville Racecourse

Greyville Racecourse is a Thoroughbred race track in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The 2,800 metre pear-shaped track consists of several gradient features: it is run uphill from the 2,400 metre mark to the 1,800 metre mark, after which it slopes gently downward for...

, home of the Durban July. The Kings Park Sports Medicine Centre is located on Walter Gilbert Road between the two largest stadiums. The precinct, along with the ICC Durban will be the epicentre of the World Transplant Games in 2013 .

Sporting venues

• Moses Mabhida Stadium - football, athletics
• Kings Park Stadium
  Kings Park Stadium
  Kings Park , is a stadium in the Kings Park Sporting Precinct in Durban, South Africa, which was originally built in 1891 and extensively renovated in the 1990s...
  
   - rugby, football, concerts
• Outer Fields, Kings Park - rugby, athletics
• Collegians Athletics Stadium - athletics
• Kings Park Aquatic Centre - aquatics including swimming, diving and synchronised swimming
• Cyril Geohegan Velodrome - cycling
• Newmarket Stables
• Battery Beaches I and II, Oasis Beach, and Country Club Beach - all ocean sports
• Blue Lagoon / Umgeni River - canoeing
• Stables Archery Range - archery
• Golf Courses - Windor Park; Windsor Mashie; Durban Country Club

Transport

The precinct is served by a railway line and three stations, Umgeni, Moses Mabhida Stadium and Durban. The M4 provides road access up the north coast and the M12 to the city centre. The R102 (M19) runs inland towards Westville

Westville, KwaZulu-Natal

Westville is an area near Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, which is situated 20 km inland from the Durban city centre. Formerly an independent municipality governed by a Town Council, it now forms part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, which also includes Durban...

.

External links

• City of Durban Press Release
• City of Durban Press Release

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