It’s back to the drawing board on NMB stadium deal

The municipality has done a U-turn on the lucrative Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium management contract, saying it does not have enough money to accept any of the bids.

The city will, instead, be heading back to the drawing board to decide what kind of contract it wants in place, if any, to manage one of the metro’s biggest assets.

The municipal and political leadership will decide on a way forward tomorrow when they meet for their fortnightly mayoral committee meetings.

Five companies submitted bids to take over the running of the stadium in North End when Access Management’s monthto-month contract expires on December 31.

The municipality had advertised a request for proposals (RFP) earlier this year, calling for an operator with extensive stadium management experience to focus not only on the stadium bowl, but also the development of the precinct to generate income.

The plan was to award the contract to a company that would transform the precinct into a sports, leisure, events and tourism destination.

The municipality has said previously it is searching for an operator that can generate revenue for the city instead of relying on the municipality for funds.

The companies that submitted bids included Access Management, Stadium Management SA, BM Machesa Construction, 3 Towers Facilities Management and Masale Management Group.

Acting city manager Johann Mettler said yesterday the decision to withdraw its RFP had nothing to do with the calibre of the bids submitted.

“We advertised a request for proposals and received five offers,” he said.

“The bids were duly evaluated by our bid evaluation committee. “The non-award of the tender has nothing to do with the credentials of the bidding companies or whether they fulfilled the bidding criteria."

“We have always reserved our rights not to make an award. In this case our budgeted costs proved insufficient.”

Mettler sent letters to the bidding companies on Thursday informing them of the decision not to award the contract.

The metro’s contract with Access, which has managed the stadium since 2009, was renewed on a month-to-month contract from July.

Access will continue with its contract until the end of December, effectively giving the municipality 2½ months to advertise and award a new contract