Central Auckland councillor says 'loony' waterfront stadium idea unlikely to succeed

Monday, 15 October 2018

The Government failed in its 2006 bid to get Auckland backing for a stadium to host the 2011 Rugby World Cup

A new proposal for a stadium on Auckland's waterfront has been attacked as a 'loony idea' by the area's councillor.

Waitematā and Gulf ward councillor Mike Lee has also rubbished suggestions the new arena would be 'free'.

The private consortium behind the latest push for a stadium on Bledisloe Wharf met Auckland Council executives last week. Mayor Phil Goff told Stuff he was open to considering a private sector-funded ground.

But Lee said Auckland had more pressing issues to deal with first.

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'Given the enormous costs Auckland faces right now in dealing with transport and dealing with sewage, I think it's just a loony idea,' he said on Monday.

'I think it's a pretty dumb idea, really, and the claim that it's free, that's used car salesman talk.

Councillor Mike Lee says the latest proposal for a stadium on Auckland's waterfront is a 'loony idea'.

'Anyone who gets sucked in by that is very foolish indeed – there's no such thing as a free lunch and there's certainly no such thing as free waterfront stadiums.

'I don't think it's got any chance of going anywhere.'

It would be 'irresponsible in the extreme', Lee said, for the mayor and councillors to take the proposal seriously, given the current issues the city faced.

'My father would call this attitude all hair oil and no socks,' Lee said.

Currently, Bledisloe Wharf is a roll on, roll off terminal for Ports of Auckland, handling everything from cars and trains to wind turbines and tunnel boring machinery.

Building a stadium there would mean shutting that operation, which Stuff understands would take years to relocate.

Lee pointed out there were many places in Auckland to build a stadium, but not many where you could build a port.

'To be shoehorning a football stadium into the waterfront is not good business, it's not good economics and it's also bad aesthetics,' he said.

'Last time, when the Government had a proposal for a waterfront stadium, a lot of the opposition was from people who felt that such a massive building on the waterfront would actually detract from waterfront amenity.

'Some people were willing to put up with ships and cranes, but a great big, multi-storey stadium was unacceptable to them.'

Stuff understands there is little enthusiasm for the latest stadium plan within the council and its agencies.

A publicly-funded stadium is on the backburner following the release of a $935,000 report commissioned by Goff, which found it feasible but needing considerably more study.

The PWC study estimated construction costs of $1.5 billion. The council did not have the budget available in the next three years to explore new stadium plans.

Meanwhile, uncertainty remained over the long-term future of Eden Park, which covered its own operating expenses but could not afford significant upgrades.

Neither the council nor Government has expressed interest in chipping in.

In addition, Eden Park's hosting capabilities are limited by planning restrictions, which have prevented night concerts being held.

The last serious proposal for a waterfront stadium was in 2006 when the government failed to get agreement with Auckland's local bodies for a new venue to stage the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

It opted instead for a $190 million upgrade of Eden Park.