Turnstiles for Soccer City Stadium
The Calabash
Soccer City is the newly renovated home of South African football and is based in the heart of Johannesburg. It is called the Calabash because it resembles an African Calabash pot. It boasts a 3-tiered bowl with excellent sight lines. This world class stadium boasts a seating capacity of 92 000, which ranks it among some of the largest stadiums in the world. The cost of construction is estimated at R3.2 billion / $500 million. It incorporates cutting edge technology in terms of its structural architecture and the materials used. The opening match as well as the final of the FIFA 2010 World Cup will take place at Soccer City Stadium.
The contract for the manufacture and supply of the turnstiles was awarded to Turnstar Systems in August 2008. The installation was carried out in four months during 2009. Turnstar Systems was chosen due to its excellent record in the supply of turnstiles for major events, such as the 2003 Cricket World Cup and the 2008 African Cup of Nations, as well as Turnstar industry leading guarantee of five years on the ROTALOK rotation locking mechanism.
Turnstar Systems manufactured and supplied a total of 170 turnstiles for Soccer City. This comprises of 154 TRIUMPH 4 full height turnstiles and16 TRIDENT waist height turnstiles.
The TRIUMPH full height turnstiles were supplied with a hot dip galvanised finish according to architectural specification galvanising. A corrosive resistant finish was required due to the close proximity of a mine dump, containing corrosive chemicals, to the stadium. The TRIUMPH 4 turnstile was chosen due to its durability in mass access applications.
Following consultation with the engineers and architects, the TRIUMPH 4 full height turnstile was modified, in terms of aesthetics and function, from our standard design to meet the needs of the stadium. The standard turnstile operates on a 90° rotation cycle. This was changed to a 180° rotation cycle which allows additional walkway width for the spectators. It also provides higher speed access.
The turnstiles are fitted with a low energy fluorescent light for night time events. In addition, it also has LED indicator light (red cross and green arrow) to provide indication to spectators whether the turnstile is open or closed. The LED lights are fitted to the turnstile and are visible from a range of up to 50m. The turnstiles are fitted with LCD transaction counters which count the number of entries through the turnstile. The counters are reset after each event by means of a reset keyswitch.
The TRIDENT waist height turnstile was selected for use in the VIP areas. It was selected based on its visual appeal as well as its durability and functionality. The TRIDENT turnstile is fitted with a hydraulic damper, to ensure ultra-quiet operation, even under conditions of high traffic.
Both of the TRIUMPH 4 and the TRIDENT turnstiles were supplied with special mounting brackets and chassis plates, for the mounting of the ticket readers and access control systems. These brackets were also cusom designed for this specific application.