For the first time in its 126 years history, the broke Border Rugby Union (BRU) is homeless.
On Thursday the union was forced to vacate its home at the Buffalo City Stadium due to financial problems.
The union can no longer afford to pay BCM its R90,000-a-month rent.
The union’s consultant and former marketing manager, Akhona Mgijima, confirmed they had to leave the stadium, but referred questions to administrator Basil Haddad.
Haddad could not be reached for comment on Thursday.
The BRU’s move creates a problem for Walter Sisulu University's sport management school which has a campus site at the stadium but pays rent to BRU.
WSU and 75 of its students use the union's facilities for practical training.
WSU spokesperson Yonela Tukwayo said the university’s management was in talks with BCM over their future.
On Thursday, Tukwayo simply said: “WSU is in discussions with BCM for the continued use of the facility at the stadium.”
BCM spokesperson Samkelo Ngwenya said the BRU left the stadium voluntarily.
“No one is being thrown, or evicted from the stadium by the city. It is a voluntary relinquishment by the tenants based on their current circumstances.”
Ngwenya said the BRU and BCM resolved in a meeting of January 30 that the BRU would leave on April 1.
He said the date of departure was pushed back to allow the BRU to host the 2019 Varsity Shield competition in February and March.
Ngwenya said: “Some of the main issues that affect us as a city that has a responsibility to run the stadium are that there will be no professional rugby (Border Bulldogs) in the city until BRU’s situation improves, and that there are new scaled down operations by the BRU.”
He said that due to the BRU being placed under administration and their disqualification from professional rugby, BRU would not need a stadium to play both junior and senior games up until the 2020 season, and possibly even 2021.
Ngwenya said the SA Rugby Union (Saru) committed to settle all of BRU’s debt with BCM. He would not say how much it was.
Ngwenya said they were looking for new tenants.
“(The) municipality will take over the stadium and implement feasible options at its disposal.”
In October, the BRU was suspended from professional rugby Saru and placed under administration.
The BRU executive was disbanded.
Twenty-four players took the union to court for non-payment of salaries. But the union escaped the litigation after the BCM council injected an R800,000 bailout.
Former BRU general manager and president Syd Laubscher described the move as “heartbreaking”.
“Border Rugby was the first ever union in the country to unify all the coloured clubs with the then-white union in 1993.”..