Newlands under the hammer ... finally

By SA Rugby

Thursday 17 Feb 2022

BREAKING NEWS: The Western Province Rugby Football Union and South African Rugby Union announced on Thursday that the Newlands Rugby Stadium was to be placed on the market in a sealed bidding process.

The administrator appointed by SARU to regularise the affairs of the union, Rian Oberholzer, has retained an external consultancy to ensure the process is transparent and judged entirely on commercial merits.

Oberholzer first hinted at the 'sale' of Newlands in a recent letter to the clubs - reported on exclusively by @rugby365com earlier this month!

(Continue below ...)

In a statement, SARU & WPRFU said entities wishing to pursue an interest in bidding may request details of the property and the terms and conditions of the bidding process from Galetti (Pty) Limited.

"This is the cleanest, fairest and most transparent method by which to hopefully secure the sale of Newlands to assist in the long-term sustainability of the Union," an SA Rugby spokesperson said in the statement.

"We are now in a position where we can proceed to a sale, having taken some time to understand and untangle the various sale conversations that had taken place."

The spokesperson said that the sealed bid process was the most transparent method to ensure the best possible outcome for WPRFU and the prospective purchaser.

The process allows parties to submit several bids offering different structures, in line with a set of guidelines issued by the seller.

It also prevents any opportunity for the buying party to influence the seller; information is shared simultaneously with all parties and is coordinated externally to ensure the best outcome.

The deadline for submission of non-binding offers is April 15, with submission of final binding offers on May 31.

It is hoped that a sale can be concluded by June 7.