Rusape shelves plans to renovate Vengere Stadium

Vengere Stadium gets the nod | The ManicaPost

Zim Now Writer

Rusape Town Council has given up plans of renovating Vengere Stadium for the Premier Soccer League after further demands made by the First Board Instance which they said is beyond their financial capacity.

The council had initially been asked to renovate the dressing room and goalposts which they did.

The FBI has, however, further requested the local authority to have a complete overhaul of the playing turf.

Rusape Town Council’s director of housing and community services, Morris Tekwa, said they cannot sacrifice the few resources they have to attend to the pitch when they have other service delivery matters to attend to.

“We have done most of the requirements on the stadium. We were ordered to repair the changing rooms, paint goalposts and make water constantly available and to remove the lawn and plant new one. We have attended to the other requirements and at the moment we do not have the resources to put up a new turf.

“The cost associated with that exercise is beyond our reach at the moment. We have other pressing and critical areas which deserve more attention than the stadium,” Tekwa said.

A number of visiting teams complained about the state of the pitch which they said was not proper for top-flight football.

The pitch suffered from overuse last season as it played host to four PSL teams: Black Rhinos, Cranborne Bullets, Manica Diamonds and Tenax.

Rusape Town Council drilled a borehole for constant watering of the pitch, but the FBI said there is need for a new lawn and levelling of the playing surface.

Previously, Vengere Stadium has hosted teams such as Dongo Sawmills, Buffaloes and Mutare City Rovers.