By Bernard Mhone

Mzuzu City Council (MCC) has temporarily closed Mzuzu Stadium to pave the way for renovations, mostly on the surface of the pitch.

This comes after stakeholders expressed concern over the condition of the pitch and other facilities at the stadium.

Currently Moyale Barracks and Mzuzu City Hammers use the facility as the home ground.

MCC spokesperson MacDonald Gondwe said the facility was closed on Saturday and would be reopened on May 31 after the maintenance.

Gondwe said they would focus on improving the pitch as it was bumpy and dusty during the dry season and muddy during winter.

“Through our Department of Leisure, Parks and Environment, we have already started the work and we are optimistic that renovations would be completed by May 31, when the facility is expected to be reopened. We need to level the playing ground by applying soil and water,” he said.

Gondwe said they were committed to rejuvenating the status of the stadium within the stated period.

“We apologise to stakeholders for the inconvenience,” Gondwe said.

The closure comes at a time when the 15,000 seater capacity hosted two big events last week, Kamuzu Day commemorations on Wednesday and Mzuzu University graduation on Friday, which worsened the condition of the pitch.

This came after Mzuzu City experienced rains throughout last week.

Following concerns over the pitch, Football Association of Malawi (Fam) rescheduled the Airtel Top 8 2nd leg between Moyale and Silver Strikers to Rumphi Stadium from Mzuzu Stadium.

Meanwhile, Mzuzu City Hammers General Secretary Benjamin Thole said it was sweet and bitter news.

“As a club we will now be spending over K700,000 on logistics to travel to Rumphi for each game. At the same time, it is a good development because the condition of the pitch is worrisome and it was affecting our performance,” Thole said.

Last week Minister of Local Government Richard Chimwendo Banda said President Lazarus Chakwera had demanded for the construction of a new stadium in Mzuzu.