Sharks Moses Mabhida's cash cow?

Reports that Durban's purpose-built Moses Mabhida Stadium is running at a loss, have sparked renewed talks of the Sharks having to bail out the city's white elephant.

The Stadium, just across the road from the Sharks' headquarters, Kings Park,  is not generating enough money to make it financially sustainable, the Mercury reported on Wednesday.

Audit and risk committee member Peter Christianson said the ZAR3.1 billion stadium built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was incurring "cash losses".

Christianson suggested the stadium be managed as a separate entity, in the same way the Durban International Convention Centre and Ushaka Marine were being run.

He said there was a flow of funds into the stadium but it was difficult to establish what the figure was.

"We also urge that the council investigates all possible options, including reopening negotiations with the KwaZulu-Natal Rugby Union, for the Sharks to move to the stadium," Christianson was quoted as saying.

Ethekwini Municipality spokesman Thabo Mofokeng said one of the options the city could consider was changing the stadium to a legal entity.

This would mean it would have a board to manage its affairs and the city would play an oversight role.

He said negotiations with the SA Rugby Union were at an "exploratory level".