By Spy Uganda
Kampala: The newly renovated Nakivubo Stadium is set of officially open on June 1, 2024 after being commission by President Museveni last month.
The grand launch has been confirmed by businessman Hamis Kiggundu aka Ham saying the event will feature both football and boxing matches with music performances from different Uganda artists.
According to Ham, the matches include, URA FC against Kitara FC, and Express FC against SC Villa in a Kampala derby and boxing matches between Isaac Zebra and Ibrahim Kitaka, Umaru Semata and Golala Moses.
Last month, President Museveni commissioned Nakivubo Stadium which has been redeveloped by Ham further commending him for transforming the Stadium into a state-of-the-art facility.
“Kiggundu is a young man who was born I think when the NRM had come to power, but he is a real NRM by being innovative and knowing that you can get prosperity in Uganda. This is what we have been telling you,” Museveni said while launching the stadium.
“I thank Kiggundu because he has been able to show that attitude not only in this project but even in other projects. When he came up with this idea, in my bush war ways of doing things, I quickly understood him because we bush war fighters don’t take long to understand things. If you take a long time to make a decision you die,” Museveni added.
Built to modern standards, the 40,000-seater ‘War Memorial Stadium will be a reminder of the old good days for football lovers.
“We have followed modern stadium trends from all over the world in whatever we have included in the construction of this facility because we didn’t want visiting teams to have excuses with anything regarding the facility. So, from the turf to the dressing rooms to the stands and everything else is up to international standards,” Ham revealed before the completion of the stadium.
Nakivubo will be a multipurpose stadium making it Kampala’s most famous and iconic ground with unique amenities like lifts for the physically handicapped, cinema halls, an area for indoor games like Table Tennis and Pool, VIP boxes which can be booked by a group of people on top of ordinary sitting, VVIP and executive boxes on the first tier.
The executive boxes seat about 20 people each with extra amenities like self-contained lavatories, sofa sets, a conference room, and a resting area. Each category of fans will have its own entry and exit points.
Additionally, the stadium has a multi-level parking able to accommodate over 1,000 cars on top of other amenities like restaurants, gyms, and facilities for people with disabilities (PWDs).
Behind the goalposts on one end will be a netball court while on the other a basketball court. There will be no running track as had earlier been planned following architectural changes.
The home and visiting teams will have a medical section room each, on top of dressing rooms that can seat up to 30 people each. There are also enough showers that can be used by all players of both sides on top of two referees’ rooms and lockers, and change rooms for all stadium support staff including ball boys who also have their rooms and amenities just like the kit’s men. There is also an allowance for a gym and a boxing ring under the stands.
Parking for service vehicles like ambulances and those of the VIPs are catered for including residential rooms for 80 people for teams that might want to stay for residential training.
The stadium will also have a big screen and floodlights as well as security cameras installed around the stadium.
