The Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Councillor Jolidee Matongo, accompanied by the Member of the Mayoral Committee for Community Development, Cllr Margaret Arnolds, opened a state-of-the-art facility, the Klipspruit Multipurpose Centre, last week.
The centre, in the heart of Soweto, will host a number of sporting codes like netball, basketball, aerobics, volleyball to name a few. Sport has the power to change lives. In communities ravaged by social ills, sport can encourage youngsters to turn away from a life of drugs. It can also serve as an escape from their circumstances’ said Cllr Arnolds.
The sport facility, which will soon be buzzing with activities indoors and out on the fields. The multipurpose centre, with its specialised floor, is ideal for indoor sport, development clinics and training sessions. Being next to the Nike Centre, it will form part of sports precinct with ample space for other uses. It is foreseen that both the facilities will in future complement each other during events and programmes taking place.
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“We encourage our residents, especially children, to use the facilities, join sports clubs and be active citizens. This state-of-the-art facility will provide a safe space to practice and participate in sport and recreation. We believe the facility is not only ideal for netball and basketball training, but also tournaments,” said Mayor Matongo.
Aerobics and other recreation activities presented at the facility will encourage residents of all ages to become healthy, active and enjoy quality of life. Online aerobics and exercise classes will form part of sport adapting to the Covid-19 new normal and ensure that sport participation continues, online. Programmes like school holiday programmes will add value to community life while allowing community-based programmes to take place inside the hall.
The Klipspruit Multipurpose Centre was commissioned in 2014, funded by the City of Johannesburg and coordinated by the Joburg Development Agency to the tune of R36 million. It was completed in August 2019, mainly intended to be a sport development facility for basketball and netball, but not excluding other activities.
It consists of two outdoor multipurpose courts with floodlights for evening games, an indoor multipurpose court with a seating capacity of 190 people, ablution facilities with change rooms for two teams, a kitchen, caretaker’s cottage, and a guard house. It has 70 parking bays.
