Stephen Chadenga
Mosi-oa-Tunya Development Company board chairman, Phienas Makombe has said he is geared to lead the government entity to develop the multi-purpose cricket stadium in Victoria Falls ahead of the 2027 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup which Zimbabwe is co-hosting with South Africa and Namibia.
Mosi-oa-Tunya Development Company is a state owned company under the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry that develops tourism infrastructure and facilitates investment.
Makombe said the multi-millionaire Victoria Falls cricket stadium will contribute in boosting sports tourism in the country and positioning the falls as a great tourism destination.
“I am leading a board whose mandate is accommodation expansion, increase tourist arrivals and experiences as well as attracting both domestic and foreign direct investment and promotion of inclusive and sustainable tourism aligned with National Development Strategy 2 and Vision 2030’s goal of an upper middle income economy by 2030,”Makombe told The Blast.
“The stadium with a capacity 10 000 seater goes beyond hosting cricket and is designed for other sporting disciplines such as hockey, rugby and netball.
“It will have facilities such as electronic scoreboards, grandstand changing rooms, lounges, hospitality suites, professional playing field, practice nets, broadcast media centre and floodlights.”
The Mosi-oa-Tunya board boss added: ” Around the stadium we envision a medical tourism facility, golf estate, central business district, conference facilities and school of tourism.”
He said to date construction of the stadium is at 80% plus completion and should be ready for first class cricket by August 2026.
Government has said the sports tourism infrastructure will contribute to the US$5 billion tourism and hospitality industry target.
The state of the art stadium is being developed through an ICC grant and government support for the project.
The board chair said government is also upgrading six stadiums for the 2027 Cricket World Cup namely Harare Sports Club, Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, Takashinga Sports Club in Highfield, Harare, Masvingo Sports Club as well as plans for new stadiums in Gweru and Mutare.