MBDA seeks manager for stadium

After taking control of the management of the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, the Mandela Bay Development Agency is looking for a suitable candidate to manage the city’s R2-billion asset.

Considered one of the biggest recent developments at the agency, the MBDA was given the task of managing the stadium and developing the precinct over the next three years.

The stadium was, until last month, managed by Access Management.

In a newspaper advertisement, the MBDA called for experienced and competent applicants who would be able to market the stadium and generate more money.

The advert reads: “Candidates must demonstrate the ability to consistently make good decisions through a combination of analysis, experience, and business acumen and the ability to balance the delivery of programs against the realities of a limited budget; problem solving and project management.”

MBDA spokesman Luvuyo Bangazi said the stadium manager would be in charge of not only managing the stadium operations but also driving development around the precinct. “It is a not an ordinary job,” he said. “Nelson Mandela Bay is one of a few cities where an iconic stadium such as ours is situated between two large bodies of water [lake and sea].

“The candidate, working as part of a multi-disciplinary team, must bring both conceptual and analytical skills that will hopefully unlock the great potential that lies in this precinct.”

Bangazi said the agency hoped to complete the recruitment process by the end of March.

An interim management team was in place and an interim stadium manager had been appointed, he said.