Phokeng Rustenberg

The Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenberg is not actually in the city of Rustenberg, in a community located several kilometers away from Rustenberg called Phokeng City. Phokeng is the capital of the Royal Bafokeng Nation, about which you can read more here!, i won't go into all the details on the blog, and it is the Bafokeng king who sanctioned and still now manages the sports stadium. Phokeng City was an interesting experience; as a independent (geographically speaking) community, it seemed (to the eyes of the outside observer), the most uniform and equal (in social terms). We didn't have a lot of time to spend actually exploring the area, as the stadium was the priority, and we were pressed for time, but if i could, it would like to return to spend more time here.

The stadium itself was a nice structure. Not as old as the Bloemfontein stadium (the Royal Bafokeng Stadium was constructed in 1999), it is a much nicer and more appealing structure, yet it also seems to have integrated itself just as well within the community, for example some of the local schoolchildren use some of the facilities around the stadium for their physical education classes. The stadium has a similar shape to Bloemfontein one (oval bowl with 1 stand rising above the others), but the bowl structure itself is lower, as well as more expansive which settles it within the indigenous dry and dusty landscape better, and the arc of the one stand which towers above the others is more dramatic, especially if viewed from the side at a distance. The lazy nature of the body of the stadium, along with this arc jutting out leads to a nice juxtaposition and an interesting stadium design.

Photographing the stadium was a very nice experience, given all the open space around it, the lack of tall structures in the way, and the general impression the stadium makes upon the landscape. As i previously mentioned, we didn't have as much time in Phokeng City, we had to get back to Johannesburg that night, and i was also trying to scout out the Pretoria stadium that same day, but this was one of the stadiums i was most impressed with on this trip.

Phokeng City also introduced me to the culinary speciality which is the chip roll.

It was PHOKENG GREAT!

cheers,
oskar