The Harare City Council (HCC) turned away an approach from another private investor who wanted to renovate Rufaro Stadium to modern standards, Acting Mayor, Stewart Mutizwa, has confirmed.

The HCC owns the Mbare facility which is in bad condition due to lack of proper maintenance.

And in April 2019, a private investor proposed to give the stadium an all-round make-over and would, in return, get the naming rights of the stadium.

Speaking to The Herald, Mutizwa said the deal fell through after the council rejected the move to rename the venue.

“Yes, there was an investor who came and proposed that they wanted to help in renovating Rufaro Stadium, sometime in April 2019,” the acting mayor revealed.

“The issue that led to the stalling, in the talks, was to do with the naming rights.

“The conditions were a thorn in the flesh and we couldn’t go with it. There are legal connotations involved there.”

This is not the first time the HCC has reject a deal to sell the naming rights of Rufaro Stadium.- Soccer 24 Zimbabwe