Eden Park: The big questions about its future
Thursday, 10 January 2019
Seven years after hosting a triumphant Rugby World Cup final, Eden Park - the country's most famous sporting venue - is on a path to possible insolvency.
The central Auckland stadium faces a countdown with the due date looming later this year on a $40 million bank loan that it can't afford to repay, and which Auckland Council guarantees.
A report by consultants Ernst and Young first revealed by Stuff, laid out the grim detail of Eden Park's expected deepening losses and the essential maintenance for which it doesn't have funds.
The next steps will play out in public next month, so what are the big questions about the stadium and its future ?
**READ MORE:
* Eden Park's grim financial future laid bare in report
* What's going on behind the Eden Park turf war?
* War of words between Auckland Mayor, Eden Park Trust
* Eden Park: Stadium of the future or housing site?**
Q : Why is Eden Park in financial strife?
A : Its revenue is declining, this year aggravated by the loss of one All Black Test, two fewer cricket internationals, ongoing weak attendances for Super Rugby, and declining memberships and corporate box hires.
Q : When is the crunch?
A : On September 30 a $40m loan from the ASB Bank expires, and Eden Park's Trust Board may not be able to pay even this year's interest bill, let alone repay the loan.
Q : Why is Auckland Council involved if it doesn't own Eden Park?
A : Auckland Council guaranteed repayment of the loan, and already has the debt on its books, anticipating it might have to pay the bank.
Q : If Auckland Council pays back the loan for the Eden Park Trust Board, does it become a part-owner of the stadium?
A : No.The question of the council's future involvement is the big unknown, and it has been working on options for much of the past year. Its Finance and Performance Committee is likely to be the venue for that discussion on February 19.
Q : The Government gifted the Trust Board $190m for the 2011 RWC rebuild, and appoints five trustees. Why doesn't it cough up ?
A : The Government has no direct influence over even the trustees it appoints, and has no other formal role in Eden Park. Its position has been clear up to now, no new funds for regional stadia.
Q : Why can't a stadium of Eden Park's size and status earn more money?
A : Eden Park is surrounded by villas in the central suburbs of Kingsland and Sandringham. Planning restrictions cap the number of night events, and the criteria for staging up to six concerts a year have so far been prohibitive.
Q : Why is that?
A : Each concert needs an individual consent, and with determined opponents within the neighbourhood, objections and appeals could create lengthy and costly processes to the Environment Court and beyond.
Q : Can the Council loosen those restrictions?
A : It can try, and Mayor Phil Goff said that is something that could be looked at - but that's a political hot potato and don't forget it's local body election year.
Q : Why not just build a new stadium and demolish Eden Park?
A : Eden Park's ownership is enshrined in legislation, and even if in principle a new stadium was decided on, Eden Park will be Auckland's and the country's premier stadium for at least another decade, so its problems need solving.
Q : Is there nothing Eden Park's Trust Board can do?
A : It is trying ideas such as a golf tournament, and owns nearby houses as investment properties worth $4m, but its unfunded maintenance programme is estimated at $62m over the next decade, so its destiny appears out of the Trust's hands.