Sports Facilities: Leveling, grass planting at Mandela National Stadium Namboole underway

The massive renovation and rehabilitation of Mandela National Stadium – Namboole aggressively continues.

The latest development at the 42,000-seater stadium is about the levelling and grass planting on the playing surface.

In 2019, this facility was closed off with no further sports activities to pave way for renovation and rehabilitation done by the engineering brigade of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF).

This commenced with the securing of the three land titles for arguably the biggest sports amenity in Uganda on block 234 plot 1334 (1.660 hectares), block 234 plot 6086 (12.6410 hectares) and block 234 plot 6087 (35.899 hectares).

 Then followed the exterior 4.2 kilometer perimeter fencing of the entire facility which sits on over 120 acres of land.

After the exterior wall fencing, the internal renovations took over with an uplift of the changing (dressing) rooms, the entire seats inside the stadium as well as the floodlights.

The renovation plan is extensive and incorporates numerous critical upgrades to the stadium.

These include the integration of a state-of-the-art ticketing and access control system, the installation of solar lighting to mitigate utility costs, and the establishment of an efficient drainage and irrigation system.

The projects further involve the refurbishment and elevation of the Namboole stadium and hotel to match international standards.

The entire cost is met by the Government of Uganda.

The Mandela National Stadium Limited is a Public liability company incorporated under the laws of Uganda with two shareholders (The Ministry of Education and Sports, and the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development).

For starters, Namboole was officially opened in 1997 after its construction by the Chinese over 20 years ago.

Since that time, the stadium had not seen any major renovations around it which was a cause for alarm.