GOOD Statement by Wesley Neumann ,
GOOD City of Cape Town Councillor
06 May 2025
The recent meeting of the Community Services & Health Portfolio Committee once again laid bare the challenges and opportunities facing community sport infrastructure in Cape Town. As GOOD, we remain committed to transparency, community-led development, and the protection of public assets. Recreational facilities are not luxuries, they are essential to building healthy, safe, and vibrant communities. They promote physical and mental well-being, foster youth development, and strengthen social cohesion.
Two critical issues dominated the discussion:
BELLVILLE VELODROME
The Bellville Velodrome and Stadium, once a flagship of sporting excellence, has been left to deteriorate through years of institutional neglect. Built with public funds, it now faces an uncertain future as the City quietly advances plans to sell the facility without proper public engagement or transparency.
In a calculated move, the City attempted to quietly remove the Bellville Velodrome from the Committee’s Matters Receiving Attention, a clear attempt to avoid scrutiny on a matter of significant public interest. GOOD refused to allow this issue to be buried. We demanded its reinstatement on the agenda and called for a full report to be brought before the Committee. The public deserves answers, not backroom deals.
As a result of our intervention, the City is now compelled to table a final report in June, ahead of a full Council decision in July. The fate of this iconic facility hangs in the balance and we will be watching. GOOD will not relent. We will continue fighting to protect the Velodrome as a community sporting hub, not a profit-making opportunity for private developers. This facility must be preserved as a centre of sporting excellence and youth empowerment for future generations.
VYGIESKRAAL ATHLETICS STADIUM
After years of community frustration and systemic neglect, Vygieskraal Athletics Stadium is finally on the path to SASREA compliance, a direct result of persistent advocacy and public pressure.
Key progress includes:
• Roof Repairs: After nearly a year, the damaged roof has been fixed.
• Floodlights Restored: For the first time in over a decade, the stadium will have operational floodlights by July.
The City’s announcement that the outdoor cycling track will only be restored in the 2027/28 financial year is unacceptable. We believe this delay is political, not technical and it undermines efforts to uplift our youth through sport.
Despite the delay, GOOD is calling for immediate engagement with key stakeholders in cycling and athletics. We support a shared facility model that ensures maximum use and community benefit.
We are urging the City to:
• Host community workshops on shared facility planning.
• Support the formation of sustainable local clubs based at Vygieskraal.
• Commit to inclusive planning that reflects the voices and needs of local youth and organisers.
While the City has expressed a willingness to initiate this dialogue, GOOD will hold them to their word. The community must be at the centre of this process, not excluded from it.
The Vygieskraal Stadium complex must become a launchpad for tomorrow’s champions, not a symbol of yesterday’s failures.
Cape Town cannot afford to lose another public facility to neglect, bureaucracy, or private interests. GOOD will continue to fight for accessible, dignified, and well-maintained spaces that empower our people and honour our sporting legacy.
Media Enquiries:media@forgood.org.za