Tadious Manyepo
THE Heart Stadium, the first such facility to be built by an individual in Harare since the Gwanzura brothers – Eric and Fanuel – initiated the construction of Gwanzura Stadium in the ‘60s, is in the final phase of its construction.
The 5 000-seater stadium, which is at Yadah Hotel in Waterfalls, is expected to be commissioned on November 5.
It’s the brainchild of Prophet Magaya, whose dreams to refurbish either Gwanzura or Chibuku were rejected by Harare City Council and their counterparts in Chitungwiza.
With most of the critical areas, including a lush-green pitch, grandstands installed with bucket seats and CAF standard changing rooms all in place, the Heart Stadium could provide the capital with a compact and modern football stadium it has been crying for.
Right now, Premiership clubs have been forced to play their matches at the spacious National Sports Stadium and, with attendance figures falling in the top-flight league, the games have lacked the atmosphere they need.
When the Heart Stadium is complete, Prophet Magaya expects it to accommodate 20 000 fans.
Already, experts and key officials including the Minister of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture Kirsty Coventry, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Barbra Rwodzi and PSL chairman Farai Jere, have toured the stadium and have all supplied positive feedback.
“We started the construction of this stadium about eight weeks ago and I am very happy with the progress,” said Magaya.
“We are almost there and we are just trying to make sure that we tick all the boxes.
“Every step that we have taken has been guided by the experts in that field.
“Workers have been working every minute on shifts and we are happy with what we have done so far. We are expecting to have the stadium commissioned on the 5th of November, which is next week.”
He added:
“That is my wish and we are working hard to try and accomplish that. I would like to thank every stakeholder who has been handy in the construction of this stadium.
“You know I love football and I am doing this for football not myself. I am not doing this for anyone else but my country”.
The Prophetic Healing and Deliverance Ministries Church founder said he is not worried even if his team Yadah gets relegated from the top-flight.
“I love Yadah, yes, and the hope is they won’t get relegated but if the team is demoted, that’s part of football.
“We are not building this stadium for Yadah only. We are doing it for football, for the country.”
“That is why we have made sure all the necessary technicalities which CAF looks at are addressed. We hope to see even the teams representing the country in continental matches being able to play at the Heart Stadium.
“We hope even the Warriors can play at the Heart Stadium”.