Putting the whole Fraser Park thing aside for a minute, as who knows how real a prospect it is. Before I heard about that I had assumed that Welnix's plan was just to dig in and wait until Sky Stadium needed major refurbishment and then lobby hard for it to be modified to be more appropriate for rectangular sports at that point.
I wonder, would it be a feasible option to try and make that happen sooner rather than later? Would it really be such a great loss to cricket? How many cricket games a year get bigger crowds than the capacity of Basin Reserve? How expensive would it be to do stadium surgery to turn the stadium into something more rectangular and intimate feeling for games with an attendance of >10k? How much more expensive than constructing a new stadium at Fraser Park and associated surrounding infrastructure upgrades? Could the existential threat to Sky Stadium of rugby and football taking everything to a Fraser Park Stadium get them/Council on board with speeding up that timeline?
Because Sky Stadium obviously has everything else going for it in terms of location and transportation.
I wonder, would it be a feasible option to try and make that happen sooner rather than later? Would it really be such a great loss to cricket? How many cricket games a year get bigger crowds than the capacity of Basin Reserve? How expensive would it be to do stadium surgery to turn the stadium into something more rectangular and intimate feeling for games with an attendance of >10k? How much more expensive than constructing a new stadium at Fraser Park and associated surrounding infrastructure upgrades? Could the existential threat to Sky Stadium of rugby and football taking everything to a Fraser Park Stadium get them/Council on board with speeding up that timeline?
Because Sky Stadium obviously has everything else going for it in terms of location and transportation.
Ain't no configuration happening anytime soon. Neither knocking down and starting from scratch. Have a read of the below link.
Seems the Stadium Trust were reluctant to take out extra bank lending to do seismic strengthening as it was.
There is just no money around, to make multi million dollar changes to the ROF.
A stadium that is still a young 25 years old.
Maybe if a Australian, Indonesian & NZ joint bid ever successfully bid to host the FIFA Mens World Cup, there would be some big FIFA and/or NZ Govt money sloshing around to upgrade the ROF. Make it a rectangle.
Give NZ two stadiums that could host pool games. Noting FIFA requires WC stadiums to have a minimum capacity of 40,000 spectators for group stage matches.
2038 WC? Though would violate FIFA's confederation rotation policy, as AFC (Saudi) is hosting in 2034. Unless of course AFC splits in two at some point.
https://www.gw.govt.nz/assets/Documents/2024/08/Wellington-Regional-Stadium-Trust-Statement-of-Trustees-Intent-2024-25.pdf
The other included capex is what is necessary to keep the Stadium operating as a safe and efficient venue, with limited capacity to make material improvements that would provide for a better client and patron experience.
With the Stadium approaching 25 years of age, much of the plant equipment and fixtures are from the original build and replacement is required due to age of equipment and obsolescence of parts for repairs. Many Stadiums in Australia and New Zealand built around the same time have received or are earmarked for substantial upgrades, or in some cases replacement.