No fewer than five indoor sporting codes will be accommodated in the multi-purpose sports hall on the West Coast at Sunningdale, where a R26.5 million sports complex has been provided by 92-year-old Cape residential development company Garden Cities.
The hall has the distinction of being able to accommodate provincial and national competitions in sports that include indoor hockey and football, basketball, netball and badminton.
Chairman of the Sunningdale Sports Club Robert Rothig describes the hall as unique in this sector of the peninsula – with the University of Cape Town having the only other facility to support a range of indoor sports this broad.
Garden Cities' Operations Manager Renier Smith said the sports complex and the hall represented the company's commitment to its mission to develop not only residential accommodation but also functional communities, with the facilities that residents need. The sports complex is in an area of Sunningdale where a hospital, shopping centre, school and other major infrastructure has been provided.
'The hall, which will be commissioned shortly, once all the snagging has been completed, was designed and constructed to very high specifications and provided with a multipurpose floor costing over R250 000. The court lines for the different sports, which are marked out in their own distinctive colours, cost an additional R54 000,' he said.
The imminent official opening of the hall will mark the completion of the sports complex development, donated by Garden Cities to the residents of Sunningdale and surrounding suburbs on the West Coast near Table View.
The project started six years ago on five hectares of Garden Cities' land which was set aside for the purpose. It is a part of the 92-year-old company's social responsibility programme as a 'new town' developer, which includes providing infrastructure such as school, hospital and retail sites. The sports complex provides for a wide selection of sporting codes including soccer and bowls softball and baseball and cricket under the administration of the Sunningdale Sports Club. Because the sports complex hosts all-season sporting pursuits, Garden Cities has also installed state of the art lights for evening events and practices, particularly in winter.
Rothig said the facility was a huge asset for the residents of Sunningdale and surrounding suburbs, with its baseball facility the only one currently in the greater Table View area. There are also two Astroturf courts for five-a-side soccer, which provide a home of the first Ajax Cape Town Soccer School. In addition to its uses for sport, the hall is designed for community projects, charity events, performing arts and just about everything else. Karen Morgan, the Sports Club administrator said an enormous number of enquiries had already been received from the community to hire the hall.