Kings Park Stadium

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"ABSA Stadium" redirects here. For other uses, see ABSA Stadium (disambiguation).
Growthpoint KINGS PARK
The Shark Tank
King's Park Stadium, Durban.jpg
Address Durban
Location Durban, South Africa
Coordinates 29°49′30″S 31°1′47″E / 29.82500°S 31.02972°E / -29.82500; 31.02972Coordinates: 29°49′30″S 31°1′47″E / 29.82500°S 31.02972°E / -29.82500; 31.02972
Owner eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality
Capacity 52,000[1]
Surface Grass
Construction
Opened 1958
Renovated 1990s
Tenants
Sharks, Sharks (Currie Cup)

The Kings Park Stadium (also known as Growthpoint Kings Park[2] for sponsorship reasons and also commercially promoted as The Shark Tank), is a stadium in the Kings Park Sporting Precinct in Durban, South Africa. The stadium was originally built with a capacity of 12,000 and opened in 1958,[3][4] extensively renovated in the 1980s and then again in time for the 1995 Rugby World Cup. It currently has a capacity of 52,000[3] and is the home ground of the Sharks. The stadium has also been used by Durban-based Premier Soccer League football (soccer) clubs, as well as for large football finals.

It was previously also known as the ABSA Stadium[5] and Mr Price Kings Park Stadium[6] due to sponsorship deals.

1995 Rugby World Cup[edit]

The stadium was used as one of the venues for the 1995 Rugby World Cup held in South Africa. The stadium hosted three pool games in Pool B. The stadium also hosted one quarter final with France defeating Ireland 36-12. A very wet semi final was played here on 17 June 1995 between South Africa and France, with the Springboks winning 19-15 on their way to the nation's first ever Rugby World Cup trophy.

Date Team #1 Res. Team #2 Round Attendance
1995-05-27  Argentina 18–24  England Pool B 30,000
1995-05-31  England 27–20  Italy Pool B 21,000
1995-06-04  England 44–22  Western Samoa Pool B 20,000
1995-06-10  France 36–12  Ireland Quarter Final 18,000
1995-06-17  South Africa 19–15  France Semi Final 50,000

1996 African Cup of Nations[edit]

The stadium was one of four venues for the 1996 African Cup of Nations. It hosted 3 group matches, a quarter final and semi final.

Date Team #1 Res. Team #2 Round Attendance
1996-01-16  Gabon 1–2  Liberia Group C 5,000
1996-01-19  Gabon 2–0  Zaire Group c 6,000
1996-01-24  Angola 3–3  Cameroon Group A 6,000
1996-01-28  Gabon 1-1 (1-4 on pen.)  Tunisia Quarterfinal 4,000
1996-01-31  Zambia 2–4  Tunisia Semifinal 5,000

Other events[edit]

Artist Tour Date
Whitney Houston The Bodyguard World Tour 8 November 1994
Bon Jovi These Days Tour 3 December 1995
Tina Turner Wildest Dreams Tour 18 April 1996
Gloria Estefan The Evolution Tour 20 March 1997
Michael Jackson HIStory World Tour 15 October 1997*
Janet Jackson The Velvet Rope Tour 19 November 1998
Metallica Escape from the Studio '06 21 March 2006
Robbie Williams Close Encounters Tour 10 April 2006
Celine Dion Taking Chances World Tour 20 February 2008

Future[edit]

With the construction of the new Moses Mabhida Stadium for the 2010 FIFA World Cup less than 200m away, the local government had hoped that the Sharks would have relocated.[7] However, this is unlikely as they have a 50-year lease on Kings Park which runs through 2056.[8]

References[edit]

  1. ^ http://www.worldofstadiums.com/africa/south-africa/growthpoint-kings-park/
  2. ^ "New stadium naming rights sponsor" (Press release). The Sharks & Growthpoint Properties. 24 May 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2013. 
  3. ^ a b "Stadium history". The Sharks. Retrieved 25 Jun 2014. 
  4. ^ "Facts about Durban - Kings Park". Allan Jackson. 6 Mar 2007. Retrieved 25 Jun 2014. 
  5. ^ "Sharks Boss Says Absa Dropped Sponsorship to Back Boks". allAfrica. 27 October 2010. Retrieved 2 November 2010. 
  6. ^ "Sharks name Kings Park Sponsor". Planet Rugby. 28 January 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2011. 
  7. ^ "Demolish Absa Stadium, Newlands". iol News. 19 July 2009. Retrieved 27 June 2010. 
  8. ^ "Sharks to Stay Put". The Sharks. 19 November 2010.