Stadium
Newlands is a former South African rugby ground that is due to be demolished in 2021. Discover the stadium’s history with RugbyPass, your resident rugby gurus.
About Newlands Stadium
Newlands Stadium is a former rugby stadium in Cape Town, South Africa. It is now slated for demolition, but it was previously the home of the Stormers in Super Rugby and the Western Province in the Currie Cup. Newlands Stadium was inducted into the RugbyPass Hall of Fame in 2021.
The history of Newlands as a rugby ground can be traced back to 1888, when the Western Province Rugby and Football Union purchased the land the stadium was built on. Two years later, the first official match at Newlands took place, with Stellenbosch defeating Villagers in front of around 2,400 people. The following year, the stadium hosted its first ever rugby test match, when the Springboks faced the British and Irish Lions.
Post-World War One, Newlands underwent a huge amount of redevelopment and expanded massively. By the time Newlands hosted the opening match of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, it was unrecognisable. Throughout the tournament, the stadium hosted four games, including the semi-final between England and New Zealand.
However, following the 1995 Rugby World Cup, the stadium suffered from a lack of ongoing investment. As a result, demolition rumours began to swirl. Although Western Province Rugby Union had originally decided that it would rather stay at Newlands than move to the newly built Cape Town Stadium, in 2020 it was announced that Newlands would be sold to Investec, who plan to demolish the stadium in order to build residential and retail developments.
Newlands held its final game on 23 January 2021, when Western Province faced the Sharks in the semi-final of the Currie Cup. Sadly, Western Province lost the game 19-9 and no supporters were present due to the coronavirus pandemic.
