The British and Irish Lions just missed being held up on Tuesday after armed robbers attacked the Nelson Mandela bay stadium which was built for the 2010 World Cup and was launched with an international rugby match with the touring British and Irish Lions.
The robbery took place on Tuesday at the sports bar of the new Nelson Mandela Bay stadium in the coastal city Port Elizabeth after the Lions beat the Southern Kings 20-8, said police spokesman Marinda Mills.
Two men entered the bar on the stadium’s fifth level and pointed a firearm at workers selling alcohol, took money and ran away, she said.
Mills blamed the company tasked with searching spectators.
“People were not searched properly, a firearm was brought in,” she told Sapa.
The match was the first official sports event in the 48,000-capacity stadium, the first of five new World Cup stadiums to be completed.