A football-specific stadium, Soccer City is currently the largest stadium in Africa with a capacity of 94,700. Most of the largest football events in South Africa are played at Soccer City[vague] and the venue is better suited to these events than the Ellis Park Stadium, where the final for the Rugby World Cup in 1995 was held. Soweto and the National Exhibition Centre in Nasrec are nearby.
It was the site of Nelson Mandela's first speech in Johannesburg after his release from prison. It was also the site of Chris Hani's funeral.
Construction
The Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg underwent a major upgrade for the 2010 tournament, with a new design inspired by the shape of an African calabash or gourd. The Dutch company BAM constructed the upgrade, which was designed by the Populous sports facilities group. The upgrade included: an extended upper tier around the stadium to increase the capacity to 91,141 , an additional 99 executive suites, an encircling roof, new changing room facilities and new floodlights. The number of suites in the stadium was increased to 195. Grinaker-LTA won the R1.5 billion tender to upgrade the stadium. The construction was completed on Wednesday, 21 October 2009, and was marked by a huge celebration at the stadium.
Construction work in progress at Soccer City in May 2008.
Construction work in progress at Soccer City in December 2008.
Stadium design
The outside of the stadium is designed to have the appearance of an African pot, the cladding on the outside is a mosaic of fire and earthen colours with a ring of lights running around the bottom of the structure, simulating fire underneath the pot. No spectator will be more than 100 metres (330 ft) from the action and there are no restricted views in the stadium.
The stands in Soccer City are articulated by ten black vertical lines; nine are aligned geographically with the nine other stadia involved in the 2010 World Cup, and a tenth line is aimed at Berlin's Olympic Stadium, which hosted the previous World Cup final in 2006. This represents the road to the final and it is hoped that after the World Cup, each goal scored at the stadium will be placed in pre-cast concrete panels on a podium so that the full history of the tournament’s scores can be seen for years to come.
Before the upgrade
The stadium from before the upgrade had a capacity of 80,000. The newly reconstructed stadium retains the original structure's west upper tier and entire lower tier (the lower tier was divided into two tiers).
1996 African Cup of Nations
Soccer City served as the main venue for the tournament. It hosted the opening game, 5 other group games, a quarter final, semi final, the 3rd place play-off and the final. The games were:| Date | Time (UTC+2) | Team #1 | Res. | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-01-13 |  South Africa | 3–0 | Cameroon | Group A (opening match) | 80,000 | |
| 1996-01-15 |  Egypt | 2–1 |  Angola | Group A | 6,000 | |
| 1996-01-18 | Cameroon | 2–1 | Egypt | Group A | 4,000 | |
| 1996-01-20 | South Africa | 1–0 | Angola | Group A | 30,000 | |
| 1996-01-24 | South Africa | 0–1 | Egypt | Group A | 20,000 | |
| 1996-01-25 |  Zaire | 2–0 |  Liberia | Group C | 3,000 | |
| 1996-01-27 | South Africa | 2–1 |  Algeria | Quarter-finals | 30,000 | |
| 1996-01-31 | South Africa | 3–0 |  Ghana | Semi-finals | 75,000 | |
| 1996-02-03 | Ghana | 0–1 |  Zambia | Third place match | 80,000 | |
| 1996-02-03 | South Africa | 2–0 |  Tunisia | Final | 80,000 |
2010 World Cup
The stadium will host the opening match South Africa Vs. Mexico, four more first-round matches, one second-round match, one quarter-final, and the final.2010 World Cup Schedule
| Date | Time (UTC+2) | Team #1 | Res. | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-06-11 | 16.00 | South Africa | vs |  Mexico | Group A (opening match) | – |
| 2010-06-14 | 13.30 |  Netherlands | vs |  Denmark | Group E | – |
| 2010-06-17 | 13.30 | Argentina | vs |  South Korea | Group B | – |
| 2010-06-20 | 20.30 |  Brazil | vs |  Côte d'Ivoire | Group G | – |
| 2010-06-23 | 20.30 | Ghana | vs |  Germany | Group D | – |
| 2010-06-27 | 20.30 | Winners of Group B | vs | Runners-up of Group A | Round of 16 | – |
| 2010-07-02 | 20.30 | Winners of Match 49 | vs | Winners of Match 50 | Quarter Finals | – |
| 2010-07-11 | 20.30 | Winners of Match 61 | vs | Winners of Match 62 | Final | – |
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