$40-45 Million Soccer Specific Stadium - Petone Phoenix

Ha!  I just said in an email I probably wouldn't make it as I wouldn't be able to tolerate the volume of nimby tears.

I just don't understand how people could already oppose something when the dust hasn't even settled in a proposal?

Will the petone mayor be there? 

Like others, I don't often comment on here, but much enjoy reading the forum posts.

I have to say I'm pretty excited by the talk of a new football stadium, and feel the need to add a few cents worth. When the news first came out on the proposal, I wasn't terribly excited by the prospect of relocating from the RoF location (not the actual stadium, mind). However, the concept has grown on me immensely, and I now think it could work a treat.

For those coming from Wellington Central and the Southern/Eastern suburbs, it's only an extra short train ride away from the RoF to Petone, with the proposed stadium very close to the station. I would hope that by 2016 Wellington will have finally initiated transfer tickets for public transport - as almost every other city in the world has had for the last thirty years or so - making it easy to hop on the train. If politics don't mess it up, there's a chance we could even have a light rail link to the Airport via Newtown before long, making it even easier (don't hold your breath on that one though). There's been a bit of talk about parking options near the ground, however I'd love it if parking was kept deliberately lacking and made up for instead with great public transport links (bus and train) to encourage sustainable transport use. There is already existing parking at the RoF for those coming from that direction.

For anyone coming from the Hutt Valley, there are good train links along the spine, requiring a simple short trip to the nearest park-and-ride station. Ditto from Masterton. From Porirua & Johnsonville to Petone unfortunately requires a change in train lines at Kaiwharawhara or Central - but hopefully again, transfer tickets will have been initiated by then. Bus links can also provide direct services.

While for some people the proposed location will require extra traveling, I think potentially overlooked is the excitement, anticipation, and atmosphere that can be created by having a mass of people traveling to a common destination. Petone would be buzzing. And if that destination is an intimate, football specific stadium, with terracing, craft beer and good food, I think we have a formula that will attract good crowds. Here's hoping anyway!

Stand UP for the Phoe-ee-nix!

https://www.facebook.com/dontwrecktherec?fref=ts

Why don't a few of you wade in here POLITELY in support. 

See if you can allay fears, and remind them that this will be a community facility, just a slightly different (better) one!

Also, email these guys in support:

"Those of you who wish to contact Hutt City Council and CEO tony.stallinger@huttcity.govt.nz on this can email them mayor.councillors@huttcity.govt.nz"

From the podcast thread:

So for a non-accountant like myself, what is it about the Westpac Stadium cost structure that makes it so expensive?

Presumably the cost for building it has been paid or close to paying off.  Is the annual upkeep and staff required for a 35k seater plus all the other add-ons much more than a smaller 12-15k seater?

I think they must already be cutting back on maintenance costs since they didn't bother to clean it up after the sevens.

http://westpacstadium.co.nz/assets/Documents/WRST-AR13.pdf 

I guess there are a couple of things. The WRST has an imperative to pay down the loans it's carrying from when it was built. It also has to retain a fair amount of cash to fund forward development without more loans/advances.

That's a pretty standard way to run a business. 

But, the Stadium isn't a business and shouldn't be considered one. It's a community asset operated by a trust on behalf of the Wellington Regional Council. 

OK, so maybe a change in the Board or the Board's objectives is needed? 

Or maybe just build a fit-for-purpose, cost-effective stadium that can be used by a number of different sports teams/codes!

This has been a party political broadcast of the anti-NIMBYs business lobby.

There are some great potential economic benefits. Some outstanding potential sporting/football benefits. But there are also some potentially legitimate negatives - crowd control, loss of green space, and direct impact on adjacent residents. 

I don't have a problem with an advocacy group giving voice to the negatively affected.

Perhaps the issue is that those of us in favour of it are too lazy.

Loss of green space is bollocks.  There is still a huge green space there.

Although the Post site and and that end of Jackson St. always made more sense to me.

NZ Post Petonix Stadium FTW!

All this talk about Westpac Stadium being too expensive for the Nix is nonsense and Gareth & Co know it.

The fact is that the Nix have the best venue deal in the A League.

They pay a very small fixed hire fee plus event costs which amounts to less than $30k per home match.

They have also pocketed "marketing grants" of over $1m in cash from the WCC and the Stadium Trust since Wellnix took over the A league license.

You may well ask were this money has gone because it is clear that it has not been spent on marketing.

So effectively Wellington City via the WCC Event fund and the Stadium Trust has provided the Wellnix with a FREE stadium.

Tell me why the stadium turned on the light in the weekend with 6 minutes to play?

Personally I don't doubt that some of what you are saying is true. I do find it interesting how this stadium thing has really kicked on in the space of 6 weeks from nothing more than a bit of a vague background acknowledgement of 'the stadium is a bit pricey' to 'we can't afford to play here anymore' so I still sit in the camp of 'this is a beat up by Gareth' to get a better deal.

I still look at what Auckland has with their 3 'stadium' and we are still 2 too many. How is a town with 1/3 the population going to work 2 of them (football specific or otherwise) especially when you still have the Basin. If everything goes to this new place except for Hurricanes, ABs and cricket, you'll be left with an stadium that may host 18 games a year. White Elephant!

Also Aucklanders envy Westpac because you actually have a stadium done properly and not that fuck up that is Eden Park.

I'm not convinced Auckland has two, too many. Maybe just one (and incidentally the location of all of them are significantly worse the Westpac or Petone in terms of ease of access). Isn't there actually some restriction on the number of events allowed at Eden Park per year? I don't think the Warriors would exist if Auckland only had Eden Park.

Also as an aside I don't see any problem with anyone from Westpac stadium giving us their point of view.

I never said it was an issue him giving his opinion. Its just inherently obvious he is someone in the know and most likely, his boss wont want him speaking out (or it would be in the Doom)

I don't agree with the 'the Warriors may not exist with just Eden Park'  (see point below) but then I go back to my point - we should have built on the waterfront and scrapped Eden Park and Mt Smart. 1 stadium, purpose built, good size, location and paid off for all codes to use (except cricket)

Put it this way, the council are still trying to decide what to do with it all and this is after the event. They are now talking of moving the Warrriors to Eden Park, giving speedway Mt Smart and moving cricket to Western Springs because Eden Park can't pay for itself and Mt Smart needs an overhaul and loses money.

Again, we got it so wrong.

Carlaw park was the way to go ;)

Sh*t just got real. 

You would expect the Phoenix to have close to the cheapest stadium deal. Probably you'd think Central Coast would have it better. The Phoenix are in the smallest metropolitan market in the A League.

My understanding of those "marketing grants" is that they are a payment made by the Stadium when it makes money but the hirer loses money. Basically a re-allocation of the revenues. Pretty reasonable.

What you haven't addressed is Gareth's underlying point, which is that every time the Phoenix play at the (your) Stadium they lose money. The Stadium certainly isn't losing money, in fact it's raking it in. So there is clearly an issue there.

This was councillors not thinking this through properly in the first place.

To bring this back to Wellington, if you have the Lions, Phoenix, TW out at Petone, you then have the Basin for Firebirds and Test matches and Westpac for ABs, Hurricanes and 1dayers. I think the bread is getting buttered too thin if you go down this path.

Haven't read a lot of this thread but two things:

1. Without being able to confirm 100% as I have only heard whispers, I'm pretty sure the nix got a very good deal at E.P as well.




2. You may think E.P is a fuck up J.V but Westpac is on par at least, you have to admit. This on-going debate highlights that. Both venues are only perfect for two events a year and the rest are terrible events for massive stadiums.

On the the other hand it gives Westpac stadium more 'hours' to play with. They could then attract other events and we'll all be better off. We'd still play the odd game there, AFL is here once a year. 

They said themselves that they don't get a lot of revenue from nix games (relatively). Obviously it isn't ideal for the stadium, but I'm unsure about it being the end of the world. 

There is a market for a smaller stadium imo, the fact you listed a few teams who would probably move there does show that.