{"id":870179,"date":"2026-08-13T16:25:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T14:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=870179"},"modified":"2026-08-13T17:38:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T15:38:01","slug":"big-changes-for-one-of-cape-towns-iconic-stadiums","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/870179\/big-changes-for-one-of-cape-towns-iconic-stadiums\/","title":{"rendered":"Big changes for one of Cape Town&#8217;s iconic stadiums"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Stellenbosch University and the Maties Rugby Club have entered into a strategic sponsorship agreement with the financial firm Salt EB.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This partnership introduces a naming rights model for the university&#8217;s flagship stadium, which will now be called &#8220;The Danie Craven Stadium powered by Salt EB.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Salt Employee Benefits (Salt EB) is an independent retirement fund administrator based in South Africa.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Located in Johannesburg, it manages pension and provident funds, umbrella funds, and risk benefits for more than 920,000 members.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Salt EB handles tasks such as claims processing, compliance, and member communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stellenbosch University said this new partnership with Salt EB aims to preserve the stadium&#8217;s historical legacy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Beyond stadium branding, the agreement represents an investment in student-athletes by funding high-performance programs and recreational rugby on campus.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cRather than replacing the identity of the Danie Craven Stadium, the partnership adopts an associative naming model and recognises the contribution of Salt EB as a strategic partner,\u201d said Stellenbosch University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The university said that Heritage elements associated with the Stadium will be highlighted through ongoing storytelling, commemorative projects and heritage installations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>University leadership and representatives from Salt EB both agreed that this collaboration could promote long-term sustainability while supporting community impact and sporting excellence.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The agreement employs an associative naming model aimed at attracting private investment without compromising the stadium&#8217;s historic identity.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The university said that the collaboration will ensure long-term support for Maties Rugby and should directly benefit student-athletes by funding rugby programs, high-performance teams, and talent identification initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe announcement marks an important milestone in strengthening the University&#8217;s commitment to sporting excellence, strategic partnerships and the continued development of world-class sports facilities,\u201d said Stellenbosch University Rector and Vice-Chancellor Deresh Ramjugernath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe are most grateful to Salt EB and look forward to years of partnership in serving the Maties and broader sporting community,\u201d said Ramjugernath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Stellenbosch University gets a new Campus Rugby partner<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a  data-lightbox=\"post-image\" href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Untitled-design-2026-08-13T173250.508.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Untitled-design-2026-08-13T173250.508-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-870183\" srcset=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Untitled-design-2026-08-13T173250.508-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Untitled-design-2026-08-13T173250.508-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Untitled-design-2026-08-13T173250.508-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Untitled-design-2026-08-13T173250.508.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Salt EB has also become the new Campus Rugby partner, investing in recreational rugby opportunities for university residences and commuter students.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Along with the partnership announcement, Sean Erasmus, formerly the head coach at Paarl Boys\u2019 High School, has been officially introduced as the new head coach for the Maties Men&#8217;s Senior Team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Salt EB Chairperson Eddie Strydom said they are looking forward to partnering with Stellenbosch University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNot only is Stellenbosch University a leading university providing a diverse sporting experience, but we are also honoured to be associated with the Maties Rugby Club,\u201d said Strydom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Strydom explained that the Maties Rugby Club boasts a longstanding rugby history dating back to 1875 and is known worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said that Salt EB, with the goal of becoming a truly empowered, credible, and sustainable financial services business, can deliver valuable services to its clients and will benefit from partnering with SU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maties Sport Head Drikus Hancke highlighted the partnership as a new era for Maties Rugby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe partnership not only ensures long-term sustainability for the Club but will also directly benefit student-athletes through funding for rugby programmes, including talent identification and support for high-performance teams,\u201d said Hancke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He explained that Salt EB is also the Campus Rugby partner, which is an investment in the recreational rugby student community.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cCampus Rugby provides opportunity for residents and commuter students to compete and enjoy rugby,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSalt EB has partnered with Maties Rugby to ensure that this offering is done in a way that contributes to a transformative student experience at Stellenbosch University.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He explained that Campus Rugby is a feeder into the high-performance teams, and the sustainability of this pathway will be enhanced by working with partners who value development and opportunity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Big changes are coming to Stellenbosch&#8217;s Danie Craven Stadium, including a name change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":870184,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"posted","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"2087926915361341864","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2175116506642082","_sma_instagram_post_id":"18109853822037788","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9876],"tags":[26164,26163,6896],"class_list":["post-870179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-danie-craven-stadium","tag-maties-rugby","tag-stellenbosch-university"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=870179"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870179\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":870185,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870179\/revisions\/870185"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/870184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=870179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=870179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=870179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}