The Free State Stadium (), currently known as the Toyota Stadium for sponsorship reasons and formerly known as Vodacom Park, is a stadium in

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

in the Free State of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, used mainly for

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

and also sometimes for

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

. It was originally built for the

1995 Rugby World Cup The 1995 Rugby World Cup (), was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country. The World Cup was the first major sporting event to take place in ...

, and was one of the venues for the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

. The primary rugby union tenants of the facility are the

Free State Cheetahs The Free State Cheetahs (), formerly known as Orange Free State (), currently named the Toyota Free State Cheetahs due to sponsorship reasons, are a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament. They are ...

, which participate in South Africa's domestic competition, the

Currie Cup The Currie Cup () is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier domestic competition, four South African franc ...

. Previously, the

Cheetahs The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat and the fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, with a short snout and blac ...

represented the Free State and

Northern Cape The Northern Cape ( ; ; ) is the largest and most sparsely populated Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley, South Africa, Kimberley. It includes ...

provinces in the international Pro14 competition. Until their sale before the start of the 2021–22 South African Premier Division, the primary association football tenant was

Bloemfontein Celtic Bloemfontein Celtic Football Club (simply known as Celtic) is a South African soccer club based in Bloemfontein. Bloemfontein Celtic had a large fan base in the Free State and competed in the Premiership before selling their status to Royal ...

, who played in South Africa's domestic

Premier Soccer League The Premier Soccer League (PSL) is the administrative body for professional soccer leagues and cups in South Africa. It is based in Johannesburg, and was founded in 1996 following an agreement between the National Soccer League and the remnant ...

Notable matches

1995 Rugby World Cup

The stadium was one of the host venues for the

. It hosted first-round matches in Pool C during the tournament.

1996 African Cup of Nations

The Free State Stadium was one of venues used for the 1996 African Cup of Nations. It hosted six group matches and a quarter-final match:

2009 FIFA Confederations Cup

The Free State Stadium was one of the host venues for the

2009 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup was the eighth FIFA Confederations Cup, Confederations Cup, and was held in South Africa from 14 June to 28 June 2009, as a prelude to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The draw was held on 22 November 2008 at the Sandton ...

2010 FIFA World Cup

Ahead of the

, a second tier was added to the main grandstand on the western side of the ground, increasing the net capacity from 36,538 to 40,911. Additionally, new turnstiles were created, the floodlights upgraded, electronic scoreboards installed, the sound system revamped to the required standards, and

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...

and media facilities improved.

received R221 million to upgrade the stadium. Though cost estimates were at R245 million, the city decided to stand in for the R24m shortfall. Tenders were advertised in February and March 2007. Upgrade work started in July 2007.

References

External links

Bloemfontein
Official municipality website
Photos of Stadiums in South Africa
a
cafe.daum.net/stade

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{{Super Rugby stadiums Soccer venues in South Africa Rugby union stadiums in South Africa Buildings and structures in Bloemfontein Sports venues in the Free State (province) Sports venues completed in 1995