Kenya is planning to construct four new state-of-the-art stadiums in Nairobi County. This is in a move to address the shortage in recreational facilities for the youth in the county and also to encourage more sporting activities.
The four new stadiums
Confirming the reports was Nairobi County Executive in charge of Education and Sports Janet Ouko who said that the four new stadiums will be set up as per Fifa standards and will be located in Dandora, Jacaranda grounds, Kariokor and Kihumbini.
Also Read: Refurbishment works in Kenyan stadiums to be completed soon
She added and pointed out that the contractors have already moved to the site in Dandora where the first stadium will be constructed.
They will be 120m by 50m with ample sitting spaces set to accommodate thousands of people and include amenities such as modern changing rooms, referee rooms and restaurants.Resources to construct the stadiums will come from the Nairobi County government.
Amenities in the stadiums
Recently, the Governor for Nairobi, Mr. Mike Sonko advertised for bids for the construction of the new grounds. According to the bid documents, the contractor who has been awarded the tenders will have to ensure they have a chain-link fence, gates painted with county colour logo, plastic stadium seats which have full back-rest and water drainage holes.
Additionally, the contractor will have to put the approved artificial turf like astro turf, complete with anti-shock underlay, put up substitutes’ benches with an overhead sunshade and also fit CCTV cameras to ensure the stadiums have 24-hour security surveillance.
A football, basketball, cricket stadium and public swimming pools are equally set for construction in at least each of Nairobi’s 17 constituencies.
I believe sporting activities can deter crime in the society. The youth needs to focus its energy on activities that uplift our society, not the ones that degrade it. This is a positive move. its only good when its good for the masses.
Hi Yvonne,
Great step for Nairobi County and the Country. However, to ensure the stadium stand the test of time, would have been great if the following (in no particular order) was considered as part of the projects procurement:
1. Benchmarking with the World’s Best Sporting Facilities – not just FIFA Stadards – benchmarking with the world’s best sporting facilities ensure that any new facilities go beyond whatever the applicable minimum standards (in this case FIFA Standards). Noting that benchmarking with the world’s best does not necessarily mean the most expensive or bursting budgets. Its possible to create world’s best with a tight budget.
2. Peer review – peer review helps further optimize the design and suitability of any project, particularly public projects. This is where Nairobi County would invite specialist consultants – and I dont mean spend millions in consultancy fees – who are able to provide really constructive and beneficial feedback on design, constructabibility, fitness for purpose, maintenance, lifecycle, etc. – in a cost effect manner. Peer Review and Benchmarking are a must if the intention is to create stadiums that will stand the test of time and serve the purpose for which they are built.
3. Amenities – again, without benchmarking and peer review, the aminities that will be included in these stadiums are limited to the minimum requirements in the FIFA Standards, what we know locally, and what the contractors included in their proposal. Remember, once the tender is awarded, we are stuck with what was included in the contractor’s proposal. any modifications constitute scope creep that, as we know, thats how we burst budgets in Kenya, and we are very good at it.
4. Multi Purpose Sporting Facilities – based on my experience, creating multipurpose sporting facilities is the way to go, especially if the aim is to ensure that the stadium sees constant content and revenue. Essentially, each venue would have a base sport (e.g. soccer, cricket, etc.) and most of the base built amenities are designed and built for the base sport. However, the design and construction considers ease of conversion, bumpin and bumpout for other selected sports. For instance – https://optusstadium.com.au/the%20stadium/fact%20sheets/a%20multi-purpose%20venue, that I am the maintenance manager for – is a multipurpose venue for AFL (Aussie Rules – Base Sport), Cricket, Rectangular (Rugby and Soccer), Enternainment (Concerts, Monster Truck, Other) and Athletics. The design and construction consider conversion, bumpin and bumpout for each of these sports and activities with documented processes of how to install and uninstall the required overlays. This needs to be thout through if “STATE OF THE ART STADIUMS” is the goal.
5. Maintenance & Lifecycle Management – Kenya should learn from the South African experience where maintenance and upkeep of the stadiums built for the 2010 World Cup is a struggle – below links for your information. Procurement Strategy for every project, particularly public projects, should thoroughly detail the maintenance and lifecycle management of the projects. This could be included in the scope of the design and construction contractor or could be done as a separate procurement exercise. However, in development maintenance and lifecycle management plan, all elements of design and construction should be considered. As a matter of fact, it is essential that Maintainability and Lifecycle Cosideration be used to drive Design and Construction to ensure overall cost effectiveness of the Project Lifecycle. Not sure whether this was a consideration but am willing to bet not?!
-https://www.voanews.com/a/south-africa-struggles-to-sustain-world-cup-legacy/1528895.html
-https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/soccer/world-cup/white-elephants/article19064519/
-https://mg.co.za/article/2010-05-12-maintance-for-world-cup-stadiums-to-be-costly
6. Operations and Content – The worst mistake that Nairobi County can do is to build these stadiums and then hand them over to – Football Kenya Federation (FKF) or Athletics Kenya or Other Sporting Associations – to Operate and Attract Content into the facilities. These are Government Agencies that, as you and I know, are not ar all geared for efficiency and come with serious politcal baggage. The best thing that the County can do is tender for Private Stadium Operator to Management Operators and Bring Content into the Stadiums. The particular contractual arrangements for this are varied but then again, the County can learn from the world’s best. The Contract Period could be 5 + 5 Years. Note that the county could procure Stadium Operations and Maintenance as one contarct or separate (1) Stadium Operations & Content Management (2) Facilities Maintenance – either way going for private entities to provide the services. Once reason for separating the two is that the Facilities Maintenance Contract could be for a longer period, e.g. 5 + 5 Years, 10 Years or 20 Years, which is good for Maintenance and especially lifecycle maintenance. Essentially, if he design life of the stadium is for 50 years, a Maintenance and Lifecycle Strategy needs to be put in place to ensure the 50 years design life is realised, other it remains a dream.
Yvonne – if I haven’t lost you already, am sure you are wondering where did I get the time from… thing is I care about this stuff. Let me know if you have any questions.
Regards,
Felix Miano