Loftus gets 'facelift'
NEWS: After 105 years the Loftus Versfeld playing surface is getting a ‘facelift’.
The grass surface at Loftus will be replaced to improve the quality needed nowadays for the demands of the game.
“We are upgrading Loftus pitch so that it will continue to be the preferred choice of venue for major rugby, soccer and entertainment events,” Blue Bulls President Willem Strauss told @rugby365com.
Unlike the Cape Town stadium – which is getting a new hybrid, 50 percent grass and 50 percent synthetic, surface – Loftus will remain purely grass.
Loftus Versfeld, situated in the suburb of Arcadia in the city of Pretoria, is one of the most iconic venues in the World.
The stadium has a capacity of 51,762 and was a sell-out when the Springboks demolished the Wallabies 43-12 in a Test a fortnight ago.
The stadium was named after Robert Loftus Owen Versfeld, the founder of organised sports in Pretoria.
The site of the stadium was first used for sports in 1906, and the field was simply called the Eastern Sports Ground.
The first concrete structure was erected there by the City Council in 1923.
The original structure could only accommodate 2000 spectators and did not have proper sports facilities.
In 1928, mostly because of the All Blacks tour to South Africa that year, the Pretoria sub-union made a large profit which they used to erect changing rooms and toilets.
When Loftus Versfeld died suddenly in May 1932 the Pretoria sub-union renamed the Eastern Sports Ground after him as a tribute.
The stadium has been known as Loftus Versfeld Stadium ever since.
It has been upgraded on several occasions, most recently in 1984, when the Northern Pavilion received an upgrade.
* Meanwhile, the Bulls have started pre-season work.
They have been told by the coaches that they are going to push limits ‘MASSIVELY’ in the pre-season.
“I’m telling you now we are going to push limits MASSIVELY, if you throw up…” 🐂 Pre-Season in Full Swing 🔥 pic.twitter.com/wxbmYZY6q2
— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) July 27, 2023
