The Ministry of Sports (MINISPORTS) has unveiled plans to outsource the management of Amahoro Stadium. The multi-billion facility is since August 2022 undergoing a major face-lift to turn it into an ultra-modern sports ground. The renovations include expanding the seating capacity from 25,000 to 45,000, enhancing outer facilities such as Petit Stade for basketball and indoor games, the Paralympics gymnasium, parking and access roads as well as the perimeter fence. The government will spend a sum in excess of Rwf160 billion on the stadium which is due to be complete before August, according to engineers. The fully refurbished world-class stadium will not only meet FIFA requirements but also align with the standards of the World Athletics Federation. Zéphanie Niyonkuru, the Permanent Secretary at MINISPORTS, told The New Times that there is a plan to find a competent firm to manage the facility. “Just like the BK Arena has management, we are also planning to outsource the management of Amahoro Stadium,” Niyonkuru said in an interview on Monday, February 5. South African firm QA Venue Solutions has been managing state-of-the-art BK Arena since 2020 and Niyonkuru is not ruling out the possibility of adding Amahoro Stadium to the list of facilities that the company could manage in the future but only if it meets requirements. “We are looking at outsourcing the management of the facility. If they [QA Venue Solutions] have the expertise to manage it, then they can manage it. But it will be an open bid to companies interested in managing the stadium,” he said. Naming rights The stadium will maintain its name, Amahoro Stadium, until a potential naming deal comes on table. Niyonkuru said that the ministry will communicate interested companies to invest in naming rights, then the stadium will be rebranded as soon as a good deal is agreed upon. “The stadium keeps its name but it might change anytime we get a company ready to buy the naming rights,” he said. In May 2022, Bank of Kigali paid Rwf7 billion to get Kigali Arena rebranded to BK Arena in a mega deal that will last six years. It was the first of its kind naming rights deal with such an amount whose record could be broken once a new company tables a bigger deal to buy the naming rights for Amahoro Stadium.
