Athletics in KZN at risk: Stadiums in disrepair threaten sport's future
File Image: The King's Park stadium in Durban are among the stadiums in the province that are facing challenges according to KZN Athletics.
Image: Independent Newspapers Archives
The KwaZulu-Natal Athletics (KZNA) body is sounding the alarm over the future of athletics in the province, revealing that several stadiums that should be at the forefront of athletics development are not licensed to do so because of their poor condition.
Among the stadiums is the Kings Park Athletics track, Chatsworth Stadium in Durban, the Msunduzi stadium, Ulundi stadium, and Richards Bay stadium.
The organisation expressed concern that athletics is being treated as “the poor cousin” of other sporting codes and is being neglected. This issue surfaced amid concerns regarding the maintenance of the stadiums in the province. A video emerged recently showing “poor maintenance” of the Msunduzi Municipality’s Harry Gwala football stadium.
A source in athletics bemoaned the state of the Kings Park athletics stadium, stating, “If you haven't visited the Kings Park athletics stadium (Durban) recently, please do so for all our sakes. You will find the same level of deterioration (as Harry Gwala) and apathy towards maintenance.
“Most toilets and the change rooms are kept closed so they don't have to be cleaned. The athletics track is, of course, no longer approved by Athletics South Africa (ASA), so no national championships are allocated to Kings Park,’ said the source.
Steve Mkasi, KZNA president, said the situation was much worse, mentioning many stadiums across the province used for athletics.
He noted that with Kings Park, they have been battling for the last six years to have the problems addressed.
“For the last six years, we have been trying to engage with the City, and due to their diaries, it has been proving difficult to accommodate us.
“There’s absolutely no door we haven’t knocked at. Unfortunately, this matter needs officials and not politicians. The relevant department has had a few changes over the last couple of years. Every time we start talking to a person, they leave the City, and the process has to start de novo.
“A licence to qualify the stadium to be used for athletics is valid for five years, because line painting fades, the rules change, and the obvious wear and tear occurs.
“It also doesn’t help that Chatsworth Track is also in no condition to be used for athletics; this means that everything from everyday training takes place on the same track, which speeds up the wear and tear of the facility.”
He added that the Chatsworth Track can't be used after dark because there are no lights.
“The rust on the lights got so bad that we suspended the use of the stadium until the municipality removed them.
They were dangling so dangerously that it became unsafe to use the venue. We are hopeful that we will sit down with the officials of the City soon because we intend to host an international competition in February2026 at the facility,” he said.
The president added that the impact on athletics has been very negative.
“We generate revenue that sustains our development agenda by hosting national competitions. The last two years, as a whole, have not had a licensed facility. Kings Park is one of five tracks in the province, and none of them meet the standard for World Athletics.”
He said the problem of poor maintenance ofthe stadium extends beyond eThekwini.“Msunduzi is a Class 1 stadium and should be the pride of the province; however, as things stand, it is also unlicensed.
“Ulundi has a dilapidated track; Chatsworth is the same as Richards Bay. Athletics is the forgotten cousin of other codes like football, rugby, and cricket, and it is sad. We are losing talent to other provinces, in part because we don’t have suitable infrastructure.
“We will, however, continue to knock at doors. In fact, we are even prepared to be given a long-term lease so that we can raise public funding to upgrade the facility, only if someone from these municipalities could lend us their ears,” he said.
EThekwini Municipality and Msunduzi Municipality had not responded to requests for comment by deadline while an official at uMhlathuze Municipality said they would need to seek clarity from KZNA before they could comment.
EThekwini councillors expressed concerns of the impact this was having on the sport.
Patrick Pillay of the Democratic Liberal Congress in eThekwini said, "It is very worrying that key sporting facilities are left to deteriorate at the expense of sports and youth development in athletics. Systematic maintenance is paramount in ensuring that facilities do not become a white elephant. The costs of maintenance increase when left unattended for many years,” said Pillay.