Auckland councillors opt for Eden Park over downtown stadium

Thursday, 27 March 2025

How Eden Park will look for a cricket matches following the redevelopment of the lower North Stand.

Eden Park has won the battle against a downtown stadium for Auckland, but only received limited support by councillors.

At Thursday’s Governing Body meeting, councillors voted on whether to endorse an upgrade to Eden Park, or a new stadium as part of a precinct at Te Tōangaroa/Quay Park.

The vote went 17 to 2, with one abstention, to back stage one of the Eden Park 2.1 project, which is for an upgrade to the Lower North Stand that would see the installation of retractable seats.

This would allow spectators to be closer to the action for rugby games and cricket matches to be played on an oval shaped field.

The cost for this work is $110 million, and the Eden Park Trust will be asking central government for that money.

Councillors didn’t go as far as to support the full Eden Park 2.1 project, which includes upgrading the upper tier of the North Stand for stage two, or stage three’s retractable roof, which would cost $282 million.

Eden Park Trust Board Chair Kereyn Smith said the decision allowed them to move forward with their plans.

“Today’s decision is a pivotal step toward securing the long-term future of Eden Park as New Zealand’s national stadium. The staged approach gives us the certainty to plan, the flexibility to deliver, and the ability to respond to the needs of Aucklanders and New Zealanders alike,” Smith said.

“Eden Park 2.1 is a smart, staged investment that delivers high-impact returns for both Auckland and the nation. It’s practical, future-focused, and leverages existing infrastructure to achieve lasting outcomes.

The proposed new precinct at Auckland's Quay Park features a stadium.

“We look forward to working with both Auckland Council and central government to make this opportunity a reality.”

Eden Park CEO Nick Sautner was equally pleased by the decision.

“We’re delighted that Auckland Council has chosen to support Eden Park 2.1, which is a practical, buildable, and future-ready approach to delivering Auckland’s main stadium.

Spectators will be closer to the action for rugby or football games at Eden Park following the redevelopment of the Lower North Stand.

“Recognising the Governing Body’s vital role in shaping the next phase, we are committed to working collaboratively to deliver the best outcomes for Auckland and the country.

“Eden Park 2.1 is a high-value, high-benefit opportunity for Auckland and New Zealand. It makes the most of existing infrastructure, leverages the City Rail Link which opens in 2026, and delivers social, cultural, and economic benefits quickly and at scale.”

During the meeting, Mayor Wayne Brown put forward a proposal to endorse a staged redevelopment of Eden Park as the best and most feasible option for providing Auckland with a fit-for-purpose main stadium in the future.

This is subject to the completion of a business case for Stage One that establishes a case for government support and confirmation of central government support.

Brown said nothing is dead because of this, but they have injected oxygen into one of the proposals.

“It’s definitely the most feasible, which made it the best option,” Brown said.

“Te Tōangaroa, to be fair, requires $1 billion to be made on the property deal. What if they only made $800m?

“They may not do it, they’re going to do that development anyhow.

“This has the best level of certainty for things to go ahead. But it doesn’t completely rule out your big hairy arsed monster that might just emerge at some stage.”

It remains to be seen what happens to the Te Tōangaroa and whether the building would go ahead without the stadium.

In a statement, those behind the Te Tōangaroa proposal said they will take stock.

“We appreciate Council’s assessment of the feasibility studies and their agreement that Te Toangaroa is technically and environmentally feasible,” the statement said.

“They also highlight the significant public benefits if delivered without public funding. Therefore the Te Toangaroa consortium will assess the feedback and will respond accordingly.”

Auckland Council’s director of strategy Max Hardy addressed councillors at the beginning of the meeting, confirming that neither proposal had established the feasibility of their proposal, based on the council’s criteria.

For Eden Park, Hardy said it was technically and operationally feasible, but not financially viable without government support, which is $110 million for stage one.

For Tōangaroa, Hardy said their proposal relied on optimistic assumptions about costs and that there were infrastructure disruption risks for rail and port access.

The consortium says it would need 12 months more to strengthen its feasibility and asked for money not to be given to Eden Park in the meantime, as this wound undermine their case.

The debate went for a few hours. It eventually became clear that Eden Park would be the winner, and in the end it was a convincing victory, with Josephine Bartley and Chris Darby voting against Brown’s proposal and Mike Lee abstaining.