City, Sharks in move talks

Durban - EThekwini municipal manager Sbu Sithole will approach the Sharks to open discussions about the rugby team possibly moving to the Moses Mabhida Stadium, the Mercury reported on Thursday.

The team, which is based at the Kings Park stadium, has been in negotiations with the municipality over the years, but they have been unable to reach an agreement.

In November 2010, the Sharks said on their website that the eThekwini municipality had not been able to provide an incentive for the team to move to the new Moses Mabhida Stadium.

It had also been unable to demonstrate that The Sharks (Pty) Ltd would not be worse off if it relocated.

According to the Mercury, the SA Rugby Union (Saru) blamed the failure to reach an agreement on a breakdown in the relationship between former municipal manager Michael Sutcliffe, Sharks CEO Brian van Zyl and Saru president Oregan Hoskins.

Sithole said he had proposed that the Sharks be formally and officially approached to start negotiations about the use of the stadium.

"This will help in finalising the plans for the entire sporting precinct around Moses Mabhida," he said.

The city was eager to get the Sharks as a tenant as the stadium was costly to maintain and was hardly used except for the occasional soccer match.