Unlike many local residents, Mbombela Stadium will have electricity and indoor plumbing. (Image by Goldorak.)

Really good article by Barry Bearak in the New York Times about the South African provincial capital of Nelspruit spending $137 million dollars on a stadium that will host six hours of World Cup soccer this year, while a good number of its citizens live in dire poverty.

I get the idea. Build a stadium, show the world how modernized you are on a big stage and attract more investment. But just imagine how much infrastructure that amount of money could build in South Africa. An excerpt from “Cost of Stadium Reveals Tensions in South Africa“:

“Come June, soccer’s World Cup will be hosted by South Africa. Though only four of the 64 games are to be played here in Nelspruit, a $137 million stadium was built for the occasion. The arena’s 18 supporting pylons reach skyward in the shape of orange giraffes. At nightfall, their eyeballs blink with flashes of bewitching light.

The people who live nearby, proud as they are to host soccer’s greatest event, also wonder: How could there be money for a 46,000-seat stadium while many of them still fetch water from dirty puddles and live without electricity or toilets?”