Zimbabwee Cricket (ZC) has agreed a long-term lease with the City of Gweru for the development of a new cricket stadium ahead of two major global events in the country.
The agreement, which relates to a 10 446-hectare piece of land in the Midlands capital, will be legally binding for 99 years.
ZC is looking to turn the plot into a multi-purpose stadium, including spectator stands, a VIP pavilion, a media centre, corporate boxes and an accommodation facility.
“This is a 99-year lease where Zimbabwe Cricket is going to come in to construct a state-of-the art cricket ground and us, as the City of Gweru, we are providing the space in terms of the land – it’s a 10-hectare (piece of) land so that at least they can put up all the facilities . . .” Gweru Town Clerk Livingston Churu said, explaining what the agreement entails.
“It’s actually a multi-discipline facility where you are going to have cricket, you are also going to have squash, I am sure, and all the other disciplines, even tennis. So that is how it’s structured.”
After signing off the agreement on behalf of the national cricket body on Friday, an elated ZC Managing Director Givemore Makoni said: “We are pretty excited we have put pen to paper on the lease agreement between Zimbabwe Cricket and the Gweru City Council.
“This is a huge milestone as far as cricket development is concerned, as it means we are bringing cricket to the Midlands province. “One of our strategic objectives is to become the number one sport in the country and to achieve that we are taking the game to all four corners of the country.
“But without Gweru, the capital city of one of the major provinces, that strategic goal or milestone will not be reached.” City of Gweru Mayor Martin Chivhoko welcomed the development, hailing it as a game changer for the Midlands capital.
Source Newsday
