World class cricket ground for Gweru

The Gweru City Council has entered into a partnership with a local company to construct a world-class cricket ground ahead of the 14th edition of the International Cricket Council World Cup in 2027, an official has said.

The Cricket World Cup is a quadrennial One Day International (ODI) tournament contested by men’s national teams and organised by the ICC.

It is scheduled to be played in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Namibia in October and November 2027.

This will be the second time that South Africa and Zimbabwe will have co-hosted the tournament, after the 2003 edition, while it will be the first time for Namibia to do so.

In an interview, Gweru Mayor Martin Chivhoko said construction of the ground, to be situated between the Gweru Showgrounds and OK Mart, will also see the long-awaited relocation of the Gweru Sports Club from the Gymnaka grounds,

“We anticipate the relocation of the sports club this year so we are relocating it to the area next to the showground,” he said.

Chivhoko said they had given the partner the greenlight and they are waiting for the company to be on the ground.

“They are going to put a cricket ground there and the other facilities that are at the sports club. The relocation will enable us to expand our Central Business District towards that area,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chivhoko said the local authority is partnering state owned telecommunications company Telone to renovate Ascot Stadium so that it meets Premier Soccer League standards.

“They have been our partners for some time as they have given us bricks and built toilets, so we are partnering them to upgrade Ascot so that by the start of the season, it will be approved by the PSL,” he said.

The local authority has in the past clashed with residents and stakeholders running the Gweru Sports Club over the relocation, with council insisting that expansion of the CBD is poised for that area, while residents and stakeholders feel it is is one of the city’s refreshment and recreation spots.

Stakeholders have demanded that council should construct a new sports club before decommissioning the existing one.

New Ziana