There is probably more room for them there at NHS, The Wahs have a pretty good set up but it is theirs.AucklandPhoenix
Believe the pacific rugby team have dropped mt smart for training and moved to North Harbour due to the superior training facilities
No idea what commercial sponsors Moana Pasika have behind them, or how much money they get from NZR to run their team (they are part of the NZ Conference - Fiji Drua is in the Australia Conference). But MP's crowds at Mt Smart for Super Rugby Pacific have been pretty pitiful.
I don't imagine they have alot of spare cash. That won't be a problem for Foley, and the Wahs will be happy enough to welcome Auckland FC bling, if he throws a few million dollars at upgrading the training, rehab & media facilities in Penrose for everyone.
ie knocking Mt Smart over and starting with a clean slate.
Hate to say it but every stadium in Auckland needs knocking down or replacing, Kiwitea Street included. All substandard for what they are (piecemeal national stadium (EP), half missing stand (NHS), athletics track in South Auckland (Mt. Smart), not enough space (Kiwitea)).
Why not rebuild Newmarket Park. It was the spiritual home of football in Auckland.
All Whites vs Wales '71 courtesy of Friendsoffootballnz.com
Yeah. And do the same in wngtn. May as well rebuild the Basin when they knock through that 2nd Mt Vic tunnel, turn it into a rectangular field with a wesr facing Bilby Stand. Spiritual home and all that. Who watches cricket anyway? Ps Graham Bilby, ex Seatoun & NZ great, is still alive btw. A friend of my father's played golf with him at Paraparaumu a coupla weeks ago.
There is probably more room for them there at NHS, The Wahs have a pretty good set up but it is theirs.AucklandPhoenix
Believe the pacific rugby team have dropped mt smart for training and moved to North Harbour due to the superior training facilities
No idea what commercial sponsors Moana Pasika have behind them, or how much money they get from NZR to run their team (they are part of the NZ Conference - Fiji Drua is in the Australia Conference). But MP's crowds at Mt Smart for Super Rugby Pacific have been pretty pitiful.
I don't imagine they have alot of spare cash. That won't be a problem for Foley, and the Wahs will be happy enough to welcome Auckland FC bling, if he throws a few million dollars at upgrading the training, rehab & media facilities in Penrose for everyone.
ie knocking Mt Smart over and starting with a clean slate.
Hate to say it but every stadium in Auckland needs knocking down or replacing, Kiwitea Street included. All substandard for what they are (piecemeal national stadium (EP), half missing stand (NHS), athletics track in South Auckland (Mt. Smart), not enough space (Kiwitea)).
Why not rebuild Newmarket Park. It was the spiritual home of football in Auckland.
All Whites vs Wales '71 courtesy of Friendsoffootballnz.com
Because half of it is now at the bottom of a steep incline; and if you thought Eden Park NIMBYs were bad, Newmarket NIMBYs will fudge your shark up. You might as well rebuild Blandford Park.
Urggh. Just wrote a masterpiece (he says modestly) but it's lost into the ether.
In summary Mt Smart (ex OFC headquarters so must have some football specific infrastructure there), Ngahue Reserve (current OFC headquarters) and Albany (NZF HQ) could all be good training options for Auckland FC. Albany is also close to AUT Millennium - Auckland's version of NZCIS.
No coincedence Nix's ALM are doing so well, not long after moving to world class NZCIS. Fantastic training & recovery facilities can only help on field performance, a general feeling of excellence, and raised standards around any club.
But I'm sure Foley has a spare $5M or so to throw at improved facilities at either Mt Smart, Ngahue Reserve or Albany. Can only benefit Warriors, OFC, NZF or whoever. Similar to FIFA throwing money at various grounds for last year's WWC.
the OFC football infrastructure at Mt Smart has been taken over by Moana Pasifika - early noises are Bill and his team are looking at new lots of land, also not keen on turf which rules out Ngahue. Looking for spots near Mt Smart - possibly the land behind Waikaraka Park could be an option.
So is actually 8 bids in total not 4. This one now looks the favourite with NZR backing it. Retractable roof comes over if the weather is bad. You’d wonder if the Rangitoto open view would be distracting for players running or kicking in that direction!
Now I've seen the actual proposed map, it's just ridiculous. It would require buying/bowling a whole bunch of new terraced housing along The Strand - *and* require moving Quay Street 10 metres northward along what is now port land! Never happening.
Believe the pacific rugby team have dropped mt smart for training and moved to North Harbour due to the superior training facilities
Nah theres no more room at Mt Smart due to the Warriors now having 5x grades of teams and a woman's team to come.
Moana Pasifika are more of a cluster than either of the Auckland football teams ever were.
Yeah now talk in Aussie that Moana Pasika will merge with the Melbourne Rebels (in voluntary administration) but still be based in Auckland. Another story that they will relocate to Hawaii.
In reality they should be based in Samoa and/or Tonga, like the Drua are in Fiji - and get great passionate crowds. But seems neither Samoa or Tonga are big enough to be commercially viable to host a pro rugby team.
Now I've seen the actual proposed map, it's just ridiculous. It would require buying/bowling a whole bunch of new terraced housing along The Strand - *and* require moving Quay Street 10 metres northward along what is now port land! Never happening.
You should of gone around to Dock Gate C, thats where Doloras works.Jessie Merino
Doloras
Now I've seen the actual proposed map, it's just ridiculous. It would require buying/bowling a whole bunch of new terraced housing along The Strand - *and* require moving Quay Street 10 metres northward along what is now port land! Never happening.
Urggh. Just wrote a masterpiece (he says modestly) but it's lost into the ether.
In summary Mt Smart (ex OFC headquarters so must have some football specific infrastructure there), Ngahue Reserve (current OFC headquarters) and Albany (NZF HQ) could all be good training options for Auckland FC. Albany is also close to AUT Millennium - Auckland's version of NZCIS.
No coincedence Nix's ALM are doing so well, not long after moving to world class NZCIS. Fantastic training & recovery facilities can only help on field performance, a general feeling of excellence, and raised standards around any club.
But I'm sure Foley has a spare $5M or so to throw at improved facilities at either Mt Smart, Ngahue Reserve or Albany. Can only benefit Warriors, OFC, NZF or whoever. Similar to FIFA throwing money at various grounds for last year's WWC.
the OFC football infrastructure at Mt Smart has been taken over by Moana Pasifika - early noises are Bill and his team are looking at new lots of land, also not keen on turf which rules out Ngahue. Looking for spots near Mt Smart - possibly the land behind Waikaraka Park could be an option.
Very good interview with Jim Doyle. This land has been identified by PWC and then designed by HKS Architects (new Nou Camp, Sofi stadium). I'll take their word that the location works over the Spark Arena bin man.
You should of gone around to Dock Gate C, thats where Doloras works.Jessie Merino
Doloras
Now I've seen the actual proposed map, it's just ridiculous. It would require buying/bowling a whole bunch of new terraced housing along The Strand - *and* require moving Quay Street 10 metres northward along what is now port land! Never happening.
I'm not saying anything.
"There's good money to be made down the docks, doing favours for sailors" - Baldrick
Now I've seen the actual proposed map, it's just ridiculous. It would require buying/bowling a whole bunch of new terraced housing along The Strand - *and* require moving Quay Street 10 metres northward along what is now port land! Never happening.
They're not really that "new" anymore is it? If I remember correctly they all had significant leaky home issues a few years back and a bunch of them got flooded recently as well. (Not arguing that this project is realistic but I think that's the least of their concerns - like you say moving Quay Street 10 metres over is a much bigger issue!)
You should of gone around to Dock Gate C, thats where Doloras works.Jessie Merino
Doloras
Now I've seen the actual proposed map, it's just ridiculous. It would require buying/bowling a whole bunch of new terraced housing along The Strand - *and* require moving Quay Street 10 metres northward along what is now port land! Never happening.
I'm not saying anything.
"There's good money to be made down the docks, doing favours for sailors" - Baldrick
What do you mean? Delivering messages, sewing on buttons?
I wouldn't want to be the guy that agrees to move the Warriors from Mt Smart. It's basically the only stadium that works well for any team in Auckland and it suits the fan base.
I wouldn't want to be the guy that agrees to move the Warriors from Mt Smart. It's basically the only stadium that works well for any team in Auckland and it suits the fan base.
Us Warriors fans are very supportive of a CBD stadium. Mt Smart is quite run down and worse than Eden Park to get to (worse PT, slightly better parking) Agree wholeheartedly though that Mt Smart is the only current stadium that works for a team in Auckland and suits the fan base
I wouldn't want to be the guy that agrees to move the Warriors from Mt Smart. It's basically the only stadium that works well for any team in Auckland and it suits the fan base.
Us Warriors fans are very supportive of a CBD stadium. Mt Smart is quite run down and worse than Eden Park to get to (worse PT, slightly better parking) Agree wholeheartedly though that Mt Smart is the only current stadium that works for a team in Auckland and suits the fan base
You'd need ticket prices to remain about the same I reckon. Otherwise the long suffering league diehards could be a bit angry, travelling further into the city surrounded by the Ponsonby set or Chinese international students waving little Warriors flags who can't name one player.
But yeah if tix don't increase much, same the beers, the public transport is quick & easy, and any new stadium is all modern and spectacular - the diehards will come into the CBD. Some of the Sydney NRL clubs rotate their home games between their traditional suburban grounds like Leichardt Oval, and 80,000 seater Homebush. Wahs could do the same.
I wouldn't want to be the guy that agrees to move the Warriors from Mt Smart. It's basically the only stadium that works well for any team in Auckland and it suits the fan base.
Us Warriors fans are very supportive of a CBD stadium. Mt Smart is quite run down and worse than Eden Park to get to (worse PT, slightly better parking) Agree wholeheartedly though that Mt Smart is the only current stadium that works for a team in Auckland and suits the fan base
You'd need ticket prices to remain about the same I reckon. Otherwise the long suffering league diehards could be a bit angry, travelling further into the city surrounded by the Ponsonby set or Chinese international students waving little Warriors flags who can't name one player.
But yeah if tix don't increase much, same the beers, the public transport is quick & easy, and any new stadium is all modern and spectacular - the diehards will come into the CBD. Some of the Sydney NRL clubs rotate their home games between their traditional suburban grounds like Leichardt Oval, and 80,000 seater Homebush. Wahs could do the same.
The only Sydney NRL teams Stadium situations that should be emulated are the Roosters (new 45k seater) Eels (relatively new 30k seater) and the Panthers (22k seater that is about to get an upgrade)
I do think they would have to keep one of Mt Smart/NHS for clashes. So possible they could intentionally schedule a game back at Mt Smart as a "spiritual home" game
Now I've seen the actual proposed map, it's just ridiculous. It would require buying/bowling a whole bunch of new terraced housing along The Strand - *and* require moving Quay Street 10 metres northward along what is now port land! Never happening.
I wouldn't want to be the guy that agrees to move the Warriors from Mt Smart. It's basically the only stadium that works well for any team in Auckland and it suits the fan base.
Us Warriors fans are very supportive of a CBD stadium. Mt Smart is quite run down and worse than Eden Park to get to (worse PT, slightly better parking) Agree wholeheartedly though that Mt Smart is the only current stadium that works for a team in Auckland and suits the fan base
You'd need ticket prices to remain about the same I reckon. Otherwise the long suffering league diehards could be a bit angry, travelling further into the city surrounded by the Ponsonby set or Chinese international students waving little Warriors flags who can't name one player.
But yeah if tix don't increase much, same the beers, the public transport is quick & easy, and any new stadium is all modern and spectacular - the diehards will come into the CBD. Some of the Sydney NRL clubs rotate their home games between their traditional suburban grounds like Leichardt Oval, and 80,000 seater Homebush. Wahs could do the same.
If Chinese international students get into rugby league and get megacorps in Shanghai interested in the game, so much the better. And I should note these days that "the Ponsonby set" these days refers to gentrification millionaires of the type who are photographed in the local paper with their arms folded objecting to apartments, I doubt they'll go anywhere near any sports stadium lol
But more seriously, I'm informed by those who know that Mt Smart currently has one of the best accessible parking regimes in the country. Hopefully the new venue will be as good or better, considering I doubt there will be nearly as much open-access car parking (you would HAVE to leverage having trains and buses right outside)
Now I've seen the actual proposed map, it's just ridiculous. It would require buying/bowling a whole bunch of new terraced housing along The Strand - *and* require moving Quay Street 10 metres northward along what is now port land! Never happening.
I wouldn't want to be the guy that agrees to move the Warriors from Mt Smart. It's basically the only stadium that works well for any team in Auckland and it suits the fan base.
Us Warriors fans are very supportive of a CBD stadium. Mt Smart is quite run down and worse than Eden Park to get to (worse PT, slightly better parking) Agree wholeheartedly though that Mt Smart is the only current stadium that works for a team in Auckland and suits the fan base
You'd need ticket prices to remain about the same I reckon. Otherwise the long suffering league diehards could be a bit angry, travelling further into the city surrounded by the Ponsonby set or Chinese international students waving little Warriors flags who can't name one player.
But yeah if tix don't increase much, same the beers, the public transport is quick & easy, and any new stadium is all modern and spectacular - the diehards will come into the CBD. Some of the Sydney NRL clubs rotate their home games between their traditional suburban grounds like Leichardt Oval, and 80,000 seater Homebush. Wahs could do the same.
If Chinese international students get into rugby league and get megacorps in Shanghai interested in the game, so much the better. And I should note these days that "the Ponsonby set" these days refers to gentrification millionaires of the type who are photographed in the local paper with their arms folded objecting to apartments, I doubt they'll go anywhere near any sports stadium lol
But more seriously, I'm informed by those who know that Mt Smart currently has one of the best accessible parking regimes in the country. Hopefully the new venue will be as good or better, considering I doubt there will be nearly as much open-access car parking (you would HAVE to leverage having trains and buses right outside)
And at least one bike rack Doloras. Though you'd have an almost Category 1 climb peddling from Quay St back to Sandringham.
I wouldn't want to be the guy that agrees to move the Warriors from Mt Smart. It's basically the only stadium that works well for any team in Auckland and it suits the fan base.
Us Warriors fans are very supportive of a CBD stadium. Mt Smart is quite run down and worse than Eden Park to get to (worse PT, slightly better parking) Agree wholeheartedly though that Mt Smart is the only current stadium that works for a team in Auckland and suits the fan base
You'd need ticket prices to remain about the same I reckon. Otherwise the long suffering league diehards could be a bit angry, travelling further into the city surrounded by the Ponsonby set or Chinese international students waving little Warriors flags who can't name one player.
But yeah if tix don't increase much, same the beers, the public transport is quick & easy, and any new stadium is all modern and spectacular - the diehards will come into the CBD. Some of the Sydney NRL clubs rotate their home games between their traditional suburban grounds like Leichardt Oval, and 80,000 seater Homebush. Wahs could do the same.
If Chinese international students get into rugby league and get megacorps in Shanghai interested in the game, so much the better. And I should note these days that "the Ponsonby set" these days refers to gentrification millionaires of the type who are photographed in the local paper with their arms folded objecting to apartments, I doubt they'll go anywhere near any sports stadium lol
But more seriously, I'm informed by those who know that Mt Smart currently has one of the best accessible parking regimes in the country. Hopefully the new venue will be as good or better, considering I doubt there will be nearly as much open-access car parking (you would HAVE to leverage having trains and buses right outside)
And at least one bike rack Doloras. Though you'd have an almost Category 1 climb peddling from Quay St back to Sandringham.
I go up and down the protected bikeway along Nelson Street at least once a week, it's no hassle on an electric. But if I were going to a Quay Park stadium I would probably train it all the way so I could drink lol
Yeah. And do the same in wngtn. May as well rebuild the Basin when they knock through that 2nd Mt Vic tunnel, turn it into a rectangular field with a wesr facing Bilby Stand. Spiritual home and all that. Who watches cricket anyway? Ps Graham Bilby, ex Seatoun & NZ great, is still alive btw. A friend of my father's played golf with him at Paraparaumu a coupla weeks ago.
Bilby is only 82, so not overly surprised, although plenty have gone by that age. Not sure how much of a NZ great; played 8 games, 4 losses and a draw with New Caledonia, a win over Singapore and 2 losses to Israel. I was still in bare feet and shorts, so never watched those games, but looking at the results, either not a great period for the All Whites, or NC had a team stacked with French imports.
I seem to remember Noumea playing here quite regularly when Bilby was playing. As a kid I saw them play Hawke’s Bay at the Hastings Showgrounds. Not sure of the score but don’t recall them being worldbeaters. when the national team played club sides - are they counted as caps? We had a few English sides visiting during that time where he might have played.ClubOranje
Jessie Merino
Yeah. And do the same in wngtn. May as well rebuild the Basin when they knock through that 2nd Mt Vic tunnel, turn it into a rectangular field with a wesr facing Bilby Stand. Spiritual home and all that. Who watches cricket anyway? Ps Graham Bilby, ex Seatoun & NZ great, is still alive btw. A friend of my father's played golf with him at Paraparaumu a coupla weeks ago.
Bilby is only 82, so not overly surprised, although plenty have gone by that age. Not sure how much of a NZ great; played 8 games, 4 losses and a draw with New Caledonia, a win over Singapore and 2 losses to Israel. I was still in bare feet and shorts, so never watched those games, but looking at the results, either not a great period for the All Whites, or NC had a team stacked with French imports.
I seem to remember Noumea playing here quite regularly when Bilby was playing. As a kid I saw them play Hawke’s Bay at the Hastings Showgrounds. Not sure of the score but don’t recall them being worldbeaters. when the national team played club sides - are they counted as caps? We had a few English sides visiting during that time where he might have played.ClubOranje
Jessie Merino
Yeah. And do the same in wngtn. May as well rebuild the Basin when they knock through that 2nd Mt Vic tunnel, turn it into a rectangular field with a wesr facing Bilby Stand. Spiritual home and all that. Who watches cricket anyway? Ps Graham Bilby, ex Seatoun & NZ great, is still alive btw. A friend of my father's played golf with him at Paraparaumu a coupla weeks ago.
Bilby is only 82, so not overly surprised, although plenty have gone by that age. Not sure how much of a NZ great; played 8 games, 4 losses and a draw with New Caledonia, a win over Singapore and 2 losses to Israel. I was still in bare feet and shorts, so never watched those games, but looking at the results, either not a great period for the All Whites, or NC had a team stacked with French imports.
Bilby was NZ captain when Zealandia were still dreaming of getting out of wngtn Div 5. My sources say he played 27 times for NZ. Captained them against Man U in ChCh for one.
I rememember watching him play at the Basin when I was a kid. he might have been NZ captain then even, i remember 2 things about him, he was really good and looked really old as he was losing his hair.Jessie Merino
Napier Phoenix
I seem to remember Noumea playing here quite regularly when Bilby was playing. As a kid I saw them play Hawke’s Bay at the Hastings Showgrounds. Not sure of the score but don’t recall them being worldbeaters. when the national team played club sides - are they counted as caps? We had a few English sides visiting during that time where he might have played.ClubOranje
Jessie Merino
Yeah. And do the same in wngtn. May as well rebuild the Basin when they knock through that 2nd Mt Vic tunnel, turn it into a rectangular field with a wesr facing Bilby Stand. Spiritual home and all that. Who watches cricket anyway? Ps Graham Bilby, ex Seatoun & NZ great, is still alive btw. A friend of my father's played golf with him at Paraparaumu a coupla weeks ago.
Bilby is only 82, so not overly surprised, although plenty have gone by that age. Not sure how much of a NZ great; played 8 games, 4 losses and a draw with New Caledonia, a win over Singapore and 2 losses to Israel. I was still in bare feet and shorts, so never watched those games, but looking at the results, either not a great period for the All Whites, or NC had a team stacked with French imports.
Bilby was NZ captain when Zealandia were still dreaming of getting out of wngtn Div 5. My sources say he played 27 times for NZ. Captained them against Man U in ChCh for one.
I seem to remember Noumea playing here quite regularly when Bilby was playing. As a kid I saw them play Hawke’s Bay at the Hastings Showgrounds. Not sure of the score but don’t recall them being worldbeaters. when the national team played club sides - are they counted as caps? We had a few English sides visiting during that time where he might have played.ClubOranje
Jessie Merino
Yeah. And do the same in wngtn. May as well rebuild the Basin when they knock through that 2nd Mt Vic tunnel, turn it into a rectangular field with a wesr facing Bilby Stand. Spiritual home and all that. Who watches cricket anyway? Ps Graham Bilby, ex Seatoun & NZ great, is still alive btw. A friend of my father's played golf with him at Paraparaumu a coupla weeks ago.
Bilby is only 82, so not overly surprised, although plenty have gone by that age. Not sure how much of a NZ great; played 8 games, 4 losses and a draw with New Caledonia, a win over Singapore and 2 losses to Israel. I was still in bare feet and shorts, so never watched those games, but looking at the results, either not a great period for the All Whites, or NC had a team stacked with French imports.
Bilby was NZ captain when Zealandia were still dreaming of getting out of wngtn Div 5. My sources say he played 27 times for NZ. Captained them against Man U in ChCh for one.
True, he played 27 times in the white shirt, but 19 of them were not internationals. Only A-Internationals count as actual caps under FIFA rules. It has to be a sanctioned FIFA match (friendly or otherwise) to count.
For the longest time NZ football counted all appearances, even against local club selections. They have finally updated their records, likely due to RSSSF and proper historians like Jeremy Ruane (who has done a sterling job with records even if his website looks a bit like it’s from the 1960s and he’s a ‘pool supporter) and Wikipedia not accepting NZFootball as a reliable source since they were so verifiably wrong. Bilby’s appearance against ManU for example does not count as an international cap.
All a bit academic really. If you're selected to play for your country you can only play against the teams that are put in front of you. And if one of those teams is Man U at their very peak with Charlton, Law, Best & co., and you've not only been chosen to play them but chosen as NZ's captain, that pretty well qualifies you on its own as being an NZ historical great in my book.
Eden Pk has recorded its most successful net operating profit year in its history. In the 12 months to Oct 31, n.o.p. was $8.263mill, a $4.618mill increase on the previous year, on the back of the 2022 Women's Rugby WC, the FIFA Women's WC plus concerts by Ed Sheeran, Billy Joel and Guns N' Roses. More than 1mill people attended events at Eden Pk in 2023.
That is handy information for the owners of the new stadium lolJessie Merino
Eden Pk has recorded its most successful net operating profit year in its history. In the 12 months to Oct 31, n.o.p. was $8.263mill, a $4.618mill increase on the previous year, on the back of the 2022 Women's Rugby WC, the FIFA Women's WC plus concerts by Ed Sheeran, Billy Joel and Guns N' Roses. More than 1mill people attended events at Eden Pk in 2023.
The committee formed to provide a recommendation to the Auckland council on its future stadia strategy has already delayed that until the end of March.
Then the councillors get their say. That will ensure the NSD drama drags through most of the rest of this year.
But here’s a plea from somebody who is now into the second decade of the interminable Eden Park v The Waterfront saga and watched in despair in the years ahead of the 2011 World Cup final as council waved away an offer from Labour’s Trevor Mallard to build a decent stadium.
Hang in there because there’s a lot at stake. And, encouragingly, it also seems like Mayor Wayne Brown is determined to flush out some councillors’ misplaced parochial interests which are actually costing Aucklanders money.
So, here are three simple guidelines that, amid the blur of racy renders and creative accounting, might assist in staying focussed on what the real issues are in this debate…
1. Remember Your History This is particularly relevant when it comes to Eden Park and the council itself.
Eden Park was referred to as “the elephant in the room” in an independent review of Auckland’s Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs), secretly presented to councillors behind closed doors in February 2019 – meaning it was penned more than five years ago.
The report noted that as an independently owned stadium, Eden Park sits outside the CCOs mandate. Yet the stadium had a huge influence on what it could and couldn’t do while representing a massive financial liability to the council because it requires council funding to operate and doesn’t have cash for maintenance and expansion.
It also pointed out that “despite this considerable financial help” from council, it appoints none of the nine directors to the Eden Park Trust Board.
“In short, Eden Park, like the Auckland War Memorial Museum, enjoys the protection of special legislation, is heavily funded by the council but is not accountable to it or ratepayers,” the report noted.
The year before the report, the council’s chief executive had tried and failed to work out an agreement with the Eden Park Trust that would allow it to be run alongside a joint venture with Auckland’s three other main stadiums while still leaving ownership in the trust’s hands.
That was a sensible and logical direction to take, one adopted at about that time in Sydney in 2020 when the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust and Venues NSW merged under one board.
Sydneysiders now have a sports precinct (AFL, NRL, A-League, Super Rugby, cricket) in Moore Park that Aucklanders can only gaze upon from this side of the Ditch with envy.
Eden Park has been part of the mix in all five plans that have come and gone since the 'Stadium Strategy' launched in 2012.
2. Do The Maths: We Can’t Afford Four Stadiums The same confidential report also made it crystal clear to councillors that Auckland did not need – and could not afford – four major sports stadiums (Eden Park, Western Springs, Albany and Mt Smart).
And that sitting on their hands was not an option for councillors.
It highlighted multiple issues with the city’s stadium stock beyond just Eden Park including roof and stand issues at Mt Smart and Albany and warned of the council suffering “financial and reputational risks” if it continued to procrastinate.
Then this biggie: Doing nothing would commit the council to a capital spend of more than $600m over the next 20 years versus just over $300m if it implements a new venue development strategy.
Remember this report and recommendation is now more than five years old and nothing has happened. No wonder the Mayor isn’t happy.
That $600m forecast capex was also made before Eden Park presented itself to the public to try and remain a contender in the National Stadium Debate.
Add in the post-Cyclone Gabrielle remedial work needed at Western Springs of up to $120m and upgrades to Mt Smart and a couple of parochial North Shore-based councillors trying to save Albany… well, you get my drift.
The cost to the ratepayer of keeping the status quo and supporting Eden Park in the national stadium debate is terrifying and not being made clear to the public.
It also means it will be cheaper to build a new stadium on the waterfront than sticking with what we’ve got.
What its reporting conveniently ignores is that in the statutory accounts, it posted a $21m-plus deficit versus a $3.6m deficit in the prior year. By avoiding interest, depreciation and impairments in the PR puffery, it clouds the bigger picture.
3. For God’s Sake Show Some Vision (OK, this is less a guideline and more a personal view) I got an email from an acquaintance this week with a subject headline reading: “Even Uzbekistan is getting a new stadium” It’s bemusing but in reality it’s actually embarrassing.
Auckland is the only major city in Australasia not to have either built a new major sports stadium or significantly restructured one in the past 25 years.
Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington… even Townsville are already doing it or have done it.
For those reasons alone – let alone the false economics of continuing the funding of Eden Park and three other stadiums – we must run with a waterfront option.
Two of the three on the table are compelling (I am told the fanciful “Crater” below sea level Bledisloe Wharf venture is dead in the water with council as an option).
It’s a pity that when the Quay Park option first began fermenting in 2017 with project lead, former Warriors CEO Jim Doyle, that the Tank Farm was not available for consideration due to the America’s Cup defence.
That’s changed now and early suggestions are that its bid, led here by former NZ Rugby Board member Richard Dellabarca can be delivered at a lower cost in a site that is arguably more iconic than the other end of the waterfront.
In some ways, it’s a pity those involved in both bids can’t combine forces and settle on the best site and outcome for the Auckland public.
Eden Pk has recorded its most successful net operating profit year in its history. In the 12 months to Oct 31, n.o.p. was $8.263mill, a $4.618mill increase on the previous year, on the back of the 2022 Women's Rugby WC, the FIFA Women's WC plus concerts by Ed Sheeran, Billy Joel and Guns N' Roses. More than 1mill people attended events at Eden Pk in 2023.
Sauce : NZ Herald 21/02/24
From the above article sounds like it's some creative accounting to get that Net Profit figure.
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