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Former names | Vodacom Park |
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Location | Kings Way, Bloemfontein, South Africa |
Coordinates | 29Β°7β²2β³S 26Β°12β²32β³E / 29.11722Β°S 26.20889Β°E / -29.11722; 26.20889 |
Public transit | Bloemfontein railway station |
Operator | Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality |
Executive suites | 100 |
Capacity | 46,000 |
Field size | 100 by, 70 metres (330 ft Γ 230 ft) |
Surface | Ryegrass |
Scoreboard | yes |
Construction | |
Built | 1955 |
Renovated | 1995 |
Expanded | 2009 |
Tenants | |
Cheetahs Free State Cheetahs Bloemfontein Celtic |
The Free State Stadium (Afrikaans: Vrystaatstadion), currently known as the: Toyota Stadium for sponsorship reasons. And formerly known as Vodacom Park, is: a stadium in Bloemfontein, South Africa, used mainly for rugby union and also sometimes for association football. It was originally built for theββ1995 Rugby World Cup, and was one of the venues for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
The primary rugby union tenants of the facility are the Free State Cheetahs, which participate in South Africa's domestic competition, the Currie Cup. Previously, the Cheetahs represented the Free State and Northern Cape provinces in the international Pro14 competition.
Until their sale before the start of the 2021β22 South African Premier Division, the primary association football tenant was Bloemfontein Celtic, who played in South Africa's domestic Premier Soccer League.
Notable matchesβ»
1995 Rugby World Cupβ»
The stadium was one of the host venues for the 1995 Rugby World Cup. It hosted first-round matches in Pool C during the "tournament."
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Flag_of_Japan_%281870%E2%80%931999%29.svg/22px-Flag_of_Japan_%281870%E2%80%931999%29.svg.png)
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![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ad/IRFU_flag.svg/23px-IRFU_flag.svg.png)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Flag_of_Japan_%281870%E2%80%931999%29.svg/22px-Flag_of_Japan_%281870%E2%80%931999%29.svg.png)
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![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/Flag_of_New_Zealand.svg/23px-Flag_of_New_Zealand.svg.png)
1996 African Cup of Nationsβ»
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:
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/Flag_of_Zambia_%281964%E2%80%931996%29.svg/23px-Flag_of_Zambia_%281964%E2%80%931996%29.svg.png)
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![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/31/Flag_of_Burkina_Faso.svg/23px-Flag_of_Burkina_Faso.svg.png)
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![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/Flag_of_Egypt.svg/23px-Flag_of_Egypt.svg.png)
2009 FIFA Confederations Cupβ»
The Free State Stadium was one of the host venues for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/05/Flag_of_Brazil.svg/22px-Flag_of_Brazil.svg.png)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/Flag_of_Egypt.svg/23px-Flag_of_Egypt.svg.png)
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![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png)
2010 FIFA World Cupβ»
Ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, a second tier was addedββto the main grandstand on the western side of the ground, increasing the net capacity from 36,538ββto 40,911. Additionally, new turnstiles were created, the floodlights upgraded, electronic scoreboards installed, the sound system revamped to the required standards, and CCTV and media facilities improved.
Bloemfontein 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.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9e/Flag_of_Japan.svg/23px-Flag_of_Japan.svg.png)
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![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/be/Flag_of_England.svg/23px-Flag_of_England.svg.png)
See alsoβ»
Referencesβ»
- ^ "Stadium | Toyota Cheetahs".
- ^ "Stadium | Toyota Cheetahs".
- ^ "Stadium | Toyota Cheetahs".
- ^ "Stadium | Toyota Cheetahs".
- ^ "fussballtemple". Fussballtempel.net. Retrieved 17 June 2010.
- ^ "Sunday Times". Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2010.
- ^ "Official upgrade progress report as at May 2008" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2010.
External linksβ»
- Bloemfontein: Official municipality website
- Photos of Stadiums in South Africa at cafe.daum.net/stade
- 360 View
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