Onward Gangata
THE large crowd that turned out at Chahwanda stadium on Sunday for the Hardrock and Scottland match was not just a win for football.
It was arguably the largest crowd to watch a domestic game on the opening day of the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League season.
Many came from far and wide just to have a glimpse and experience of the magnificent facility.
The Echo Sports understands that just under 13 000 fans paid their way into the stadium.
While the Premier Soccer League (PSL) is yet to release the official figures, we have it on good authority that approximately 12 719 fans attended the historic match.
Of these, around 3500 tickets were sold online while 8000 tickets were on sale on the day with just under a 1000 people accessing the VIP and VVIP section.
Yesterday Hardrock owner, Shepherd Chahwanda expressed gratitude for the support.
“I am delighted to express my sincere
gratitude to everyone who contributed
to the resounding success of Hardrock
FC’s debut match in the Castle Lager
Premier Soccer League league at
Chahwanda Stadium,” he said.
“The overwhelming turnout and electrifying atmosphere in Kwekwe was a testament to your unwavering support.”
Chahwanda stadium provided an apt example of how sport can be used for domestic tourism.
A lot of people traveled from different parts of the country just to have a feel of the facility.
It was not just about Chahwanda stadium and the football match, it was a big boost for business in Kwekwe.
Hotels and lodges were oversubscribed while food outlets made a killing on the day.
Transport operators had a busy day shuttling fans from the city centre to the stadium.
“If every weekend can be like this, we will appeal to the government to have as many weekends per month,” said one transport operator in jest.
In hindsight, perhaps Hardrock should have done a dry run of the facility as they were clearly overwhelmed by the huge turnout.
Some fans struggled to gain entrance despite having bought tickets online while parking was a nightmare.
The Gokwe road was clogged for nearly five kilometers for almost four hours on Sunday.
These are some areas the club needs to improve in order to fully unlock the potential and full commercial value of the facility.
Well done Hard Rock for promoting sport and domestic tourism.
