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Through the multimillion upgrade of the Rabie Ridge Sport Complex, the City of Johannesburg hopes to turn the local community and adjacent neighbourhoods into sport-loving and health-living areas.
The City, through its infrastructure development entity the Johannesburg Development Agency, has set aside R28 million over three years to construct state-of-the-art sports facilities at the Rabie Ridge Sport Centre.
For this current financial year, the JDA hopes to complete the upgrade the existing football pitches and construct two astroturf courts so that residents can safely participate in soccer, rugby, cricket and other sporting codes.
“The upgrading on the Rabie Ridge Sport Centre can act as a catalyst towards radically improving the Rabie Ridge Precinct through the knock-on impact of creating jobs, increasing a more active lifestyle, and attracting private sector investment to the area,” says JDA Acting CEO Christo Botes.
Botes says the objective of the project is to ensure that the Rabie Ridge community, and the youth in particular, participate in sports, live a healthy lifestyle and ultimately become sport fanatics.
“The construction of the sporting facilities will also provide opportunities for social interaction among communities,” says Botes, who adds that 54 local residents have been absorbed as labourers and eight SMMEs for the duration of the project.
“The upgrade of the Rabie Sport Complex will bring people together and in particular the youth. Sport and recreation are the hub of community life, especially in Joburg regions where communities is expected to live, play and work in the area where they live such as Rabie Ridge and Midrand areas,” says Botes.
