Ellis Park Always Lions' Home — Straeuli 2026

Rudolf Straeuli has moved to silence speculation that the Lions could be drifting away from their spiritual home. The Lions CEO confirmed this week that two upcoming Currie Cup fixtures will be played at university venues — but made clear in no uncertain terms that Ellis Park is not under threat.

Lions shift matches to smaller venues

The Lions will host the Vodacom Bulls XV at UJ Stadium this Saturday, a venue with a 10,000-capacity, before welcoming the Boland Cavaliers at Wits Stadium — which holds up to 15,000 — later in the month. They return to Doornfontein for their clash against Stormers XXIII after that. The scheduling shift has nothing to do with attendance and everything to do with the turf at Ellis Park, which is being prepared for two back-to-back All Blacks fixtures — the Springboks host New Zealand on 22 August, followed by the Lions taking on the All Blacks on 25 August.

'With back-to-back All Blacks fixtures being hosted at Ellis Park, we are busy preparing the turf to ensure its readiness,' Straeuli explained. 'UJ and Wits, with whom we have long-standing strategic partnerships, have welcomed us with open arms to host two of our Currie Cup fixtures at their respective venues.'

Low attendance prompts strategic rethink

The timing is notable. Fewer than 1,000 fans paid to watch the Lions beat the Pumas 52-29 in round two at the 62,000-capacity ground last Saturday — with tickets priced at just R40. That disparity between stadium scale and crowd size has raised eyebrows, and some observers floated the idea that positive turnouts at the smaller venues could accelerate a permanent move away from Ellis Park. Straeuli shut that door firmly.

'Ellis Park will always be the home of the Lions,' he said. 'If it is an overwhelming success, of which we anticipate it to be, we will bolster our efforts on attracting those audiences, mainly students, through strategic marketing and collaborations, to Ellis Park.'

It is a smart play. The university partnerships give the Lions access to a younger, student-heavy demographic that has largely been absent from Doornfontein. If those fans can be converted into regulars at Ellis Park, the exercise pays double dividends. The Lions head into Saturday's fixture off the back of a convincing win over the Pumas and will be targeting a strong home showing at UJ to maintain their Currie Cup momentum.