BOSSO CLUBHOUSE’S HUGE POTENTIAL
MOST people have a tendency of looking at either a person or a place and only see as far as their eyes can go but fail to recognise the potential that lies within that being.
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While most of us see the Highlanders Sports Club as nothing more than our favourite watering hole, and a small sporting venue, a local lecturer in architecture with a team of his students have come up with a plan to revitalise Highlanders Sports Club that could turn the sporting venue into a world class facility accommodating various sporting disciplines.
At the moment the plan is nothing more than just an idea, National University of Science and Technology lecturer, Stance Ncube, believes the project could come to fruition.
He said the availability of funds might seem a hurdle at first sight but with the right approach the clubhouse could be remodelled.
The project was a class assignment and was not commissioned by Highlanders authorities.
Proposed changes include the erection of tennis courts, a hockey field and a multi-purpose hall, which can double up as an indoor sports arena accommodating a gym.
Already existing fields in the plan, which can be turned into training grounds for Highlanders Football Club teams, will be spruced up and small stands erected if the plan comes to fruition. Currently huge tracts of the facility are lying idle or are derelict with the clubhouse and outside kitchen seemingly the only best kept and functional premises.
The three football grounds at the venue are in a state of disrepair, as they either have no grass or overgrown grass, while part of the boundary fence has been damaged.
The executive Hlabangani Lounge is also malfunctioning.
Highlanders chairman Peter Dube acknowledged seeing the proposals but said they could not focus on the plan at the moment due to funding and priorities.
“We saw the proposals they came up with and it is a positive plan that looks at enhancing the clubhouse but at the moment it cannot be implemented due to club priorities and funding. However, we welcome all developmental proposals that come our way and feel they cannot be swept away,” he said.
Ncube, who was in charge of the design project, said the sports club had a huge potential unfortunately most parts of the club were lying derelict.
“I guess over the years lack of funds and concrete plans to keep the club afloat have hindered its revitalisation leading to lack of maintenance. We studied other sporting complexes among them, Naturena complex run by South African football team, Kaizer Chiefs and East Oaklands in the United States of America and BAC in the city before coming up with the plan.
“We just looked at the potential of the place and envisioned how the space within the grounds can be fully utilised by the owners of the venue,” he said.
Ncube said they were yet to do a proper costing of the project as they were yet to get a response from Highlanders.
He said they handed in their plans to club administrator, Melod Mpofu, who told them he would pass on the plans to the board before giving them feedback.
Ncube said the estimated cost of the full project could run close to just below a million dollars.
“I cannot give you the actual cost of the project because we are yet to do the actual costing. Effective and accurate costing is usually done in phases and I believe for the first phase we might need close to $400 000.
“This phase would include laying the groundwork, landscaping, erecting a fence, sprucing up the grounds and adding concrete for future buildings,” he said.
Currently the main users of the sports club are the Highlanders football team and the executive of the club is in charge of the club.
There are, however, other sporting disciplines under the banner of Highlanders that include basketball and volleyball.
The Highlanders family will have to come together if they hope to raise funds to erect the buildings.
Ncube said while at first sight the club will be deterred from pursuing the plans because of the prohibitive costs, there are several other avenues the club can engage in raising funds for the revival of the club and addition of new infrastructure.
“The first critical thing to understand is that building can be done in phases. Hence at every phase we can engage different partners.
“Highlanders do not have to dip into their pocket to complete the plan. Various sponsors can come on board such as BancABC sponsoring the sprucing up of the grounds, Delta Beverages also coming on board maybe through their Sprite brand to reconstruct the basketball courts and Dunlop or other entities involved in producing tennis equipment assisting in coming up with the tennis court.
“Naming rights can be given to the various grounds with companies that provided funding benefitting. The boundary wall can also be used as an advertising wall to generate revenue. There are also international bodies that Highlanders can tap into,” he said.
“I think it is critical to have such a plan despite the fact that funds might not be available at the moment. Determination will lead the club to the completion of the plan,” he said.
Other suggested funding methods in the project are Build-Operate-Transfer (Bot), loans, floating of shares and grants.
The students who worked on the design project titled Revitalisation of Highlanders Sports Club include Isidore Chikumbu, Dereck Kamupandira, Collin Maedzenge, Tatenda Mchibwa and Saneliso Ncube.
Ncube has worked in various roles as an architect after obtaining a Bsc undergraduate degree in Urban Planning and Design from the University of Zimbabwe in 2000 followed by a Masters in 2004 in the same field.
He has worked as a regional planner for the District Development Fund (DDF) for Matabeleland North and later Matabeleland South in the resettlement division.
He has also worked in South Africa for Grenerker LTA, where he was involved in various projects that include construction of townhouses and landscaping for the Orlando Stadium.
He is the chairperson of the Landscape Architecture and Urban Design department at Nust and is currently studying for a Masters in Construction Project Management at the university.
(From Sunday News)
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