Accra Stadium disaster portion now ready for use

At long last, the North Stand of the Accra Sports Stadium (popularly referred to as the Ade Coker Stand), which usage was barred following the 9 May Stadium disaster, will be ready for use by soccer fans as from this Saturday.

And to herald the occasion, an inter-faith church service is expected to be held at the Stadium on Thursday 9 May, exactly a year after the horrific incident, which claimed 126 lives. Supporters of Okwawu United and Real Tamale United (RTU) may have the first taste of the rehabilitated stand as they clash on Saturday at the Accra Stadium in a sixth week league encounter.

It would be followed on Sunday with a match between Accra Great Olympics and Obuasi Goldfields. A visit to the stadium by newsmen showed of a re-fix of plastic chairs that were vandalised by rioting soccer fans, at the North Stand. In all, 1094 chairs, including damaged ones from various stands have been replaced.

In an interview, acting Chief Executive of the National Sports Council (NSC), Dr Emmanuel Owusu-Ansah, revealed that removing destroyed chairs and erecting the new ones amounted to ?35 million.

A monument, to serve as a symbol of peace, love and unity is also to be fixed at the main entrance of the stadium. Dr Owusu-Ansah cautioned fans to protect state property, “because when you destroy them it is your own taxes that go into the repair work. “Let’s all endeavour to build the spirit of sportsmanship without which we shall never accept defeat in good faith- and that’s dangerous,” he advised.

The acting Chief Executive also hinted that the revamped stand would bear the inscription ‘May 9 Stand’. The contract was undertaken by DyGate Company Limited