SELBORNE PARK
REMARKS BY BUFFALO CITY
EXECUTIVE MAYOR ZINTLE PETER

Thank you, Programme Director.

• Honourable MEC for Sport, Recreation, Arts & Culture of the Eastern Cape Province, Ms Noxolo Abraham-Ntantiso
• Chief Executive Officer of the South African Tennis Association, Mr Ian Smith
• Chief Executive Officer of South African Airways, Mr Khaya Ngqula
• Honoured guests
• Representatives of the tennis community and the public
• Members of the media

Good afternoon to you all.

It is a very great pleasure for me as the Executive Mayor of Buffalo City to welcome all of you to this function to formally announce the venue of the 2008 South African Tennis Open.

The Programme for the afternoon has made it clear that my remarks are to be brief, and I have taken that seriously knowing that the Honourable MEC responsible for sport is to follow me in making her own remarks on behalf of the region and the Province.

When I led a small delegation to Austria earlier this year to present what Buffalo City had to offer as prospective hosts of the 2008 Ironman 70.3 international athletics event, I said to our European hosts that Buffalo City prides itself on being a sports tourism destination of choice in South Africa.

I meant what I said then, and our hosts were confident enough in the merits of our presentation that we were indeed awarded the opportunity to host the Ironman 70.3 competition early next year. We are looking forward to having hundreds of competitors and supporters from all over the world in our city to enjoy what we have to offer.

Now, once again we are absolutely delighted that the claims that Buffalo City makes have again been recognized in the very exciting decision to award the 2008 SA Open Tennis Tournament to our beautiful city.

Of course, we are not Cape Town or Ethekwini or Tshwane. But we have over the past few years been very welcoming hosts to major international events in sports such as cricket, rugby, baseball, hockey, yachting, aquatic and surfing events, athletics as well as both professional and amateur soccer events.

Whenever sports people leave our city after a competition, they talk with appreciation not only of our hospitality, but also the good standard of the facilities and the beautiful environment in which they were able to compete.

Where else can you play a game of tennis in the morning, go on a game drive in an international-class game reserve in the afternoon, and walk on the beach in the evening before having a meal at a very good restaurant?

Our area is also one of the richest in South Africa when it comes to cultural and political heritage. If you visit our City Hall in Oxford Street, you will see three memorials: the first one is of a soldier on a horse, which commemorates the fallen of the Anglo-Boer War; the second is of a hero of South Africa's struggle for freedom, Bantu Stephen Biko, the thirtieth anniversary of whose death we have just commemorated; and the third (which has just been erected) is of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who chaired the first meeting of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission which was held in our own City Hall.

But more than the clean air, the beaches and the rivers, the forests and the mountains, more than our facilities that are as good as any in South Africa in codes such as athletics, hockey and water-sports, more than our weather that is as good as anywhere in the world, and more than the heritage of the past that we rightly remember, I think it is the people of Buffalo City today that provide an experience for visitors to remember.

So to the CEO of the SA Tennis Association, Mr Ian Smith, and to the CEO of the primary sponsors, Mr Khaya Ngqula: we promise not to disappoint you as the organizers and the sponsors.

Indeed, we cannot afford to disappoint you, because we see the hosting of the SA Open as an opportunity once again to stake our claim to be a base city for one of the competing teams in the 2010 Soccer World Cup, with all of the benefits of international exposure that this would bring for the broader city.

That is why we regard it as very important to take every opportunity to improve the city's profile as a preferred venue for competitive sporting events, particularly those at national or international level.

We have also put our money where our mouth is in spending many millions of rands over the past five years on upgrading and expanding the city's sporting infrastructure. This Selborne Park Tennis Complex is one of a number of examples of significant investments that the city has made, including the Jan Smuts Athletics Stadium, the Buffalo Flats Hockey Astroturf, the Joan Harrison Swimming Pool and the Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane.

Of course, we are still very mindful of the fact that we have a long way to go to ensure equitable access to quality sports facilities, so that we can begin to nurture new generations of Wimbledon tennis players, so that we can produce more Makhaya Ntinis, more Akona Ndunganes and more Roland Schoemans who can inspire our younger generations to achieve their full potential in life.

We know that as we look towards the prospect of 2010, there is a lot that remains to be done in order to ensure good sporting facilities throughout Buffalo City. But together with committed sponsors in the private sector such as SAA, we are committed as a local authority to ensure that our assets are developed and maintained so that our sporting community has a chance to compete at the highest level.

Ladies and gentlemen, once again, a very warm welcome to you all.

I thank you.

N.C. Peter
Executive Mayor

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