The stadium design reflects its inter-relation with the nearby Kruger National Park. The signature feature of the stadium are the 18 roof supports that resemble giraffes. The seats are patterned with zebra stripes.
Zincalume® Steel was effectively used to ensure long-term durability based on superior corrosion resistance and material strength. The additional benefit of using a Mill finish product for the roof cladding was a further reduction in project material costs.
The stadium became a model in terms of the lowest total cost. Mbombela Stadium stands out as being the lowest cost new 2010 stadium by quite a large margin and the highest ratio of seats under roof.
The 1,450 tonne roof covers an area of 22,500 square metres and 94% of the seats. At 55 kg/sqm[7] its super lightweight efficient design kept roof cost in check and meant almost all seats are under roof. The roof is 35m above the pitch. Half of the roof is translucent to maximise sunlight to the pitch and to lighten the seating bowl. The roof appears to float above the top of the seating bowl with an 8 m gap to provide ventilation in the hot climate and also to provide views to the surrounding hills from the seats.
The structure is a propped cantilever on a 30 m module with the steel towers for the tension rods doubling as symbolic giraffe necks. The floor of the service catwalk is 110mm thick concrete acting as ballast to resist wind uplift.
