The management of the 107-year-old Van der Stel Sports Club in Stellenbosch, is in the dark about the future relocation of various sporting codes. This comes more than a year after Stellenbosch Municipality awarded a tender to Stellenbosch Football Club (SFC) for the development of the Van der Stel Sports Grounds in March 2025. SMF News also reported on this story last year when the tender was awarded.
According to Stuart Grobbelaar, the municipality’s communications manager, the tender followed an “open” and “competitive” bidding process. Following this process, SFC was granted the right to “manage, maintain and upgrade the facility” for 30 years under a lease agreement, while the municipality would retain ownership of the property.
The entrance of the Van der Stel Sports Grounds, which currently hosts the Van der Stel Sports Club and is due to be developed into a “world class” soccer facility by Stellenbosch Football Club. PHOTO: Dylan Lackay
According to Pieter Lotz, the chairperson of Van der Stel Sports Club’s sporting council, the tender agreement was clear that the municipality was responsible for developing a relocation plan for the club and its many different sporting codes, within six months of the tender being awarded.
This plan needed to be developed, in consultation with, and with approval from, Van der Stel Sports Club’s sporting council. However, more than six months after the tender was awarded, no such plan had been agreed upon.
According to Lotz, the club’s biggest concern lies in the potential relocation of its various sporting codes, as well as how accessible the facility would be for the community following the development.
The proposed plan for the various sporting codes to move to different areas in Stellenbosch, under different umbrellas, with different clubs would mean that the club would not be able to operate effectively, said Lotz.
“We were told, ‘let’s have all the clubs play elsewhere’, meaning that the rugby must go to Jamestown and the soccer must go to Jonkershoek, […] then they say that the cricket can join Ida’s Valley’s cricket club, while the judo and karate can make use of Laerskool Eikestad’s school hall for training in the evenings,” said Lotz.
“But then we are not going to be a club. We are 107 years old. […] We’re not just fighting for a little emblem,” he added.
On 31 March, Lotz received an email from the municipal manager’s office reminding the tenants and the sporting codes of the club that, “as per the mail sent in November last year, all users of the facility need to evacuate the premises by close of business today, as the site is being closed by the municipality, formally.”
This email was later retracted by the municipality and another email was sent, which held that rugby would be the only sporting code that would be allowed to utilise the grounds until August of this year. This email was also promptly retracted by the municipality.
Following the retraction of both of these emails, the club’s staff and sporting codes were allowed to continue utilising the facility, however the uncertainty regarding the relocation of the various sporting codes remain. To this day, the club has received no further formal communication regarding a relocation plan.
“We have no idea what’s happening currently. […] Our sporting codes, like gymnastics and rugby are already well into their respective seasons, and the competitions are starting one after the other, so they can’t say that we need to close our gates now, it’s impossible,” said Annette Nel, the head coach at Van der Stel Gymnastics Club.
However, she added that there had been informal discussions about a potential roundtable meeting with all the sporting codes to develop a relocation plan, after this year’s local government elections.
Jack Swart, the chairperson of Van der Stel Football Club, echoed Nel’s sentiment, saying that his sporting code had also not yet received any formal communication with regard to a relocation plan for the soccer club.
“We haven’t heard anything else recently, nothing that stands out. […] We haven’t heard anything with regard to relocating to different fields,” said Swart.
The Van der Stel Football Club trains on 23 April at the Van der Stel Sports Grounds. At this point in time they still have access to the facility for training on a weekly basis. PHOTO: Dylan Lackay
Lotz added that the club would be more than happy to relocate, if a satisfactory relocation plan is put forth by the municipality.
“Give us a suitable alternative, where we can operate as one sporting fraternity, and we’ll relocate immediately, if the place is available. […] It needs to be one joint club, under the Van der Stel banner,” said Lotz.
Alternatively, Lotz said that the club would not be opposed to collaborating with SFC in utilising the newly developed facility.
“We are open to having a dual purpose facility alongside SFC,” said Lotz. “The biggest thing is that it must be accessible to the Stellenbosch community. […] This place belongs to the residents of Stellenbosch.”
The entrance to Van der Stel’s recreational hall on the sports ground’s premises. The hall also hosts many community events and initiatives. PHOTO: Dylan Lackay
According to Grobbelaar, the facility will remain “accessible” and will be “developed [by SFC] into a world-class facility and will continue to serve our community with pride”.
“While soccer will be one of the key components, the upgraded facility will support multiple sporting codes, creating more opportunities for clubs, schools and community users,” said Grobbelaar.
The municipality also raised concerns about financial oversight and alleged mismanagement of the facility by Van der Stel Sports Club. According to Grobbelaar, these concerns are some of the reasons for the municipality’s pursuit of the development.
“An independent forensic investigation, commissioned by the municipality, identified serious financial irregularities, including instances of misappropriated funds. In addition, there were ongoing challenges with the proper compilation, submission and auditing of annual financial statements,” said Grobbelaar. “The facility itself has, over time, fallen below the standard expected of a municipal asset of this importance. Maintenance challenges, ageing infrastructure and limited investment meant that the grounds were not being utilised to their full potential.”
Lotz denied that there had been any financial mismanagement of the club, since he took over as chairperson in 2023. He added that while he cannot speak on what happened before he took over as chairperson, everything in relation to the club’s finances has been “above board” since 2023.
Despite attempts by SMF News to reach out to SFC, they did not provide comment by the time of publication.