MAILBOX: What does South Africa lose when a velodrome becomes an entertainment arena?

The City of Cape Town plans to rip out the Bellville Velodrome’s indoor cycling track, one of the only 250-metre indoor tracks in Africa, and turn the venue into an arena for 14,000 to 18,000 people, backed by a 50-year private lease. Cyclists are being offered an outdoor track worth R20 million at Vygieskraal Stadium instead. The author’s son is an award-winning amateur track cyclist who had hoped to start a university team at the velodrome. The author wrote to Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie, Cape Town’s mayor and the Western Cape premier, and none of them replied. He doesn’t oppose development. He wants the feasibility study made public, and he asks whether South Africa, chasing Formula 1, still values sport young people can actually take part in..By James Xanthios.There is something deeply troubling about the decision to remove the indoor cycling track at the Bellville Velodrome in Cape Town and transform the facility into a commercial entertainment arena. Not because concerts are unimportant, nor because private investment should be discouraged, but because the decision appears to sacrifice a rare sporting asset without adequately demonstrating that what replaces it will offer the same opportunities to athletes and future generations.South Africa needs investment, economic growth and employment. It needs well-maintained public infrastructure and facilities that can sustain themselves financially. Nobody should object to a development that achieves these objectives. But economic development should not be measured exclusively by the revenue a property can generate. We must also consider what it enables people to become.And that brings us to a question worth asking: Is sport in South Africa becoming an afterthought, except where commercial interests, established traditions or major international spectacles make it attractive?A rare sporting asset, lostThe Bellville Velodrome, also known as the Tectonic Velodrome, is a 250-metre indoor cycling track. Facilities of this kind are exceptionally scarce in Africa. For decades, the venue has provided a specialised environment for track cycling, a sport that cannot simply be transferred to a road, a field or a conventional athletics track.Cycling on a purpose-built velodrome is a discipline in its own right. It requires specialised equipment, technical skill, balance, tactical awareness, physical conditioning and the ability to make split-second decisions at speed. Athletes must learn to anticipate one another's movements, cooperate with teammates and compete within an environment where concentration and discipline are indispensable.These are not merely sporting attributes. They are qualities that young people can carry into their education, careers and lives.The City's proposed redevelopment will transform the existing venue into a larger, multipurpose indoor arena, with a projected capacity of approximately 14,000 to 18,000 spectators. The broader precinct will include commercial and mixed-use development. The City argues that private-sector investment will provide the funding needed to upgrade and maintain the facilities while generating economic activity and employment.Those objectives are understandable. Yet the City has also acknowledged that the existing indoor cycling track will not survive the redevelopment.The proposed alternative is an investment in cycling infrastructure at Vygieskraal Stadium, including a planned R20 million upgrade. That may provide valuable opportunities for cyclists. However, an outdoor cycling track and a specialised indoor velodrome are not necessarily interchangeable. Before one is sacrificed for the other, the public deserves a clear explanation of how the replacement will meet the needs of athletes, clubs, coaches and competitors, including those aspiring to compete at national and international levels.A commitment to supporting cycling is welcome. The question is whether that commitment will preserve the same sporting opportunities, or whether a unique capability will be lost in the process.Shopping, entertainment and the public goodI have no objection to shopping centres, commercial developments or entertainment venues. They create jobs, support businesses and contribute to the economy. Cape Town has every reason to attract international performers and major events.But how many more commercial venues do we need, and what are we prepared to give up to accommodate them?Commercial developments are generally justified by their capacity to attract spending. Sporting facilities must often justify themselves through a much broader set of benefits: physical and mental well-being, youth development, social cohesion, community participation and the discovery of talent.These benefits are harder to quantify on a property developer's balance sheet. That does not make them less valuable to society.A young person attending a concert is a consumer of entertainment. A young person entering a sporting facility may discover a lifelong passion, a source of belonging, a route to competition or even a future career. The two experiences are not mutually exclusive, but neither are they equivalent.A concert venue can bring thousands of people through its doors on an event night. A well-supported sporting facility can serve successive generations of children and young adults, often through daily training, school programmes, clubs and competitions.We should therefore ask whether the economic case for redevelopment has been accompanied by an equally serious assessment of the social and sporting costs.If the existing structure cannot accommodate both uses, was retaining and upgrading the cycling track properly explored? Could a modern indoor track have been incorporated into an alternative design? Could a different funding or operating arrangement have made its retention viable? And if these possibilities were considered and rejected, what evidence informed that decision?These are reasonable questions about a public asset, not an objection to private enterprise.What are we asking our young people to aspire to?South Africa's young people need opportunity. They need education, employment and pathways into meaningful participation in society. They also need places where they can develop confidence, resilience, responsibility and a sense of belonging.Sport can provide all of these things.It teaches young people that improvement requires effort, that talent without discipline has limitations, that teamwork involves obligations to others, and that losing is not necessarily failure if it becomes an opportunity to learn. It offers constructive ways to spend time, build friendships, maintain physical health and develop the confidence to pursue ambitious goals.Sport is also one of the few environments in which people from very different backgrounds can work towards a common objective without first having to agree on politics, race, religion or ideology. A team is built around participation, commitment and shared purpose.In a country still grappling with deep social divisions and persistent inequality, these opportunities matter.South Africa has every reason to celebrate rugby, cricket, football and its other established sporting traditions. Rugby, in particular, has demonstrated the extraordinary power of sport to inspire national pride. But the country should not be content to nurture only the sports that already enjoy substantial commercial backing, established institutions or large participation bases.What about the young person who might excel at cycling? What about the child who has never considered track cycling because nobody has introduced the sport to them? What about the aspiring athlete who might discover a talent that neither they nor their family knew existed?Talent cannot be developed in a sport for which the necessary facilities are unavailable.A country that wants its young people to aspire to excellence must provide them with somewhere to pursue it.And Formula 1?Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie has expressed his ambition to bring Formula 1 back to South Africa. It is an exciting prospect. International motorsport can attract investment, tourism, employment and global attention. Formula 1 also has much to teach us about engineering, teamwork, precision and the relentless pursuit of performance.But there is an important distinction between watching elite sport and participating in it.The vast majority of young South Africans will never become Formula 1 drivers. The financial and technical barriers to entry are formidable. A major international race may inspire interest in engineering, mechanics and motorsport, but its existence does not automatically provide accessible sporting opportunities for ordinary children.A cycling track, by contrast, can become a place where young people actually participate, train and compete. With appropriate programmes, equipment, coaching and financial support, it can provide a pathway from beginner to accomplished athlete.The two sporting ambitions need not compete. South Africa can aspire to host Formula 1 while investing in cycling, athletics, swimming, gymnastics and countless other disciplines that enable young people to participate directly.Indeed, the measure of a country's sporting ambition should not be limited to the international spectacles it can host. It should also include the opportunities it makes available to the child who has neither money nor connections, but possesses enthusiasm, commitment and potential.If we can imagine the prestige of hosting a global sporting event, surely we can also imagine the value of developing the next generation of South African athletes.A letter, three offices, no responseMy concern about the Bellville Velodrome is not abstract.My son is preparing for university in South Africa. He is an award-winning amateur track cyclist and had been looking forward to developing a university-based track cycling team at the facility, helping to create an opportunity for other young people to discover and participate in a sport that deserves a greater presence in the country.When I learned of the proposed public-private partnership, I wrote to Minister McKenzie on 10 March. I followed up on 22 March. I subsequently wrote to the Mayor of Cape Town and the Premier of the Western Cape, seeking clarity about the future of the cycling track and urging that its retention and modernisation be included in the redevelopment plans. I followed up with the Mayor and Premier again on 4 May.I received no response.I understand that public officials have demanding schedules and that not every letter can receive a detailed personal reply. Nevertheless, when a citizen raises a substantive question about the future of a rare public sporting facility, one would hope for an acknowledgement, an explanation or at least a referral to the relevant department.My correspondence was not a demand for special treatment. It was an attempt to draw attention to an opportunity: to preserve a facility that could support youth development, competitive cycling and South Africa's position in a sport requiring specialised infrastructure.The subsequent public announcement confirmed that the indoor track would not be retained. It also outlined plans for a replacement cycling facility elsewhere.I would welcome evidence that the replacement will adequately serve the cycling community. But the question remains why the loss of the existing facility was considered necessary, and whether every reasonable alternative was exhausted before such a consequential decision was made.What does a public asset owe the public?The City of Cape Town's case for redevelopment rests on recognisable economic arguments: private investment, better maintenance, employment, events, commercial development and reduced pressure on municipal finances. These are legitimate considerations, particularly when public resources are limited and existing facilities require substantial investment.Yet public assets should be evaluated according to the full range of public benefits they can deliver, not simply their potential to generate commercial returns.A 50-year lease is not a short-term decision. It shapes how a public asset will be used for generations. That makes it especially important to consider whether the proposed arrangement preserves the public value of the site in all its relevant dimensions.The athletics track is to be upgraded and retained, which is welcome. The proposed cycling investment at Vygieskraal is also encouraging. But the public should be able to examine the feasibility study, understand the sporting requirements identified, and see how the proposed replacement will meet them.Will the replacement accommodate the needs of competitive track cyclists? Will it provide appropriate training conditions throughout the year? Will it support youth development, coaching, clubs and competition? What provision will be made for athletes aspiring to national and international standards?These are practical questions that deserve practical answers.If the existing indoor track truly cannot be retained in a financially viable redevelopment, the City should explain why. If a replacement facility can meet the same needs, it should demonstrate how. And if the proposed alternative cannot provide equivalent opportunities, then the decision deserves further scrutiny before the loss becomes irreversible.The point is not to oppose development. It is to ensure that development delivers the broadest possible public benefit.Sport is not a luxurySouth Africa has enormous challenges. Young people need jobs, better education, safer communities and a credible prospect of building meaningful lives. Sporting infrastructure will not solve these problems on its own, nor should it be presented as a substitute for the much harder work of economic and institutional reform.But sport is part of that work.It creates structure, builds relationships, encourages healthy habits and offers young people constructive goals. It can introduce them to mentors, expose them to new experiences and give them something to work towards when other opportunities seem limited.We should be expanding the range of sports available to our young people, not narrowing it unnecessarily.We should be asking how more children can access specialised facilities, how clubs can be supported, how coaches can be developed and how underrepresented sporting disciplines can grow. We should be identifying the barriers that prevent talented young people from participating and removing them wherever possible.The Bellville Velodrome could have been part of that ambition. With investment and a clear development strategy, it had the potential to support cycling at a community level while creating a platform for higher-level competition and international events.Perhaps that potential was not commercially attractive enough. Perhaps the redevelopment could not accommodate both the indoor track and the proposed arena. But if those are the conclusions, the public deserves to understand the evidence behind them.A rare sporting facility should not disappear without a serious conversation about what its loss means.A final questionI began this process because my son saw an opportunity to contribute to South African sport. I wrote to public officials because I believed the future of the Bellville Velodrome deserved attention beyond the immediate commercial merits of its redevelopment.I am disappointed that none of the officials I contacted responded. I am more disappointed that the outcome appears to remove a specialised sporting facility that cannot readily be replicated.I recognise the value of investment, entertainment and commercial development. I also recognise that municipalities must make difficult choices about the use of public land and limited resources.But there must be room in those calculations for the young person who needs a sporting opportunity, the club that needs a place to train, the coach who wants to develop talent, and the athlete who dreams of competing beyond our borders..Read more:.Cycling, road culture, and respect: Why South Africa must relearn how to share the road - Solly Moeng.A country cannot build a sporting culture solely by hosting major events. It builds one by giving people the opportunity to participate, by investing in the facilities that make participation possible, and by nurturing the aspirations that grow from them.So, I return to the question: Is sport in South Africa becoming an afterthought, except where it is commercially attractive or already established?I hope the answer is no.The redevelopment of Bellville may still deliver significant economic benefits. But economic success should not be the only measure by which we judge it. We should also ask what the project will make possible for the next generation, and what it will make impossible.There are already enough places where people can go to spend money. We should be equally determined to preserve places where young people can discover what they are capable of becoming.The Bellville Velodrome should have been an opportunity to do both..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. 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MAILBOX: What does South Africa lose when a velodrome becomes an entertainment arena?

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