Christchurch stadium plan approved by council, next step Cabinet

Thursday, 12 December 2019

Councillors approved the stadium investment case when they met on Thursday.

Christchurch's long-awaited stadium is one step closer to reality.

Councillors approved the stadium investment case on Thursday. It will now go to Cabinet for approval, which would unlock $220m of government funding. The council has committed $253m.

The investment case found a $472.7 million facility with 25,000 seats and a clear roof to be the best fit for the city. It would be able to hold up to 36,000 people for concerts with a standing area. Another 5000 temporary seats could be added in the future, if funding for them was found.

There was some discussion about whether 25,000 seats was enough. Cr James Daniels asked council staff whether that was sufficient to host top level All Blacks tests.

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Staff replied that when talking to New Zealand Rugby, they had been told 25,000 seats 'wasn't seen to be a deal-breaker' for getting those matches.

NZ Rugby advised capacity of 30,000 would guarantee the tests, which could be reached with temporary seating – but matches were tendered for each year.

The investment case recommends a 25,000 seat facility with a clear roof, costing $473 million.

Staff said there were other ways to incentivise the matches to be held in Christchurch. NZ Rugby was a commercial entity and looked to get the best revenue out of games it hosted, so the stadium could look at how to get that level of revenue for them.

When Stuff asked NZ Rugby, it did not definitively say whether Christchurch would get top tier tests in the new stadium.

In a statement, chief rugby officer Nigel Cass said venue capacity was just one of a number of factors NZ Rugby looked at when allocating tests.

They were pleased the case included temporary seats to take capacity beyond 25,000, he said.

At the council meeting, Cr Sam MacDonald said by moving the investment case forward, council was 'living up to our end of the bargain' with the private sector who had put their money into Christchurch.

Cr James Gough supported the stadium, saying it was time for Christchurch to grow up.

He said a project like this gave the private sector the confidence to invest in the central city.

Mayor Lianne Dalziel said it was the responsibility of the council to deliver on the promise that Christchurch would have a new stadium.

She said Christchurch had always been New Zealand's sporting capital and the stadium was staking a claim to who they were.

It would also mean Christchurch would attract cultural events that it could not currently, Dalziel said.

Cr Sara Templeton voted in support of the stadium, but said it was a difficult decision as the council had declared a climate emergency.

The only Councillor to vote against advancing the investment case was Yani Johanson, who said there was 'too much risk and too much expenditure'. He said there were really big questions that were still not answered, such as whether 25,000 seats were enough.

Earlier in the meeting, Vbase senior account manager Turlough Carolan, who attracts events to Christchurch, told councillors he had just returned from Australia to try and secure events for next summer.

The stadium would be able to hold concerts for up to 36,000 people.

'The resounding feedback I had was 'if you build this venue we will come'.'

He said it was purely a numbers game for promoters and the close proximity of the airport was a major plus as was the city's ability to sell out shows on Monday and Tuesday nights.

He said if the stadium was already built the city would have secured Elton John, Queen and Michael Buble this summer.

The venue also needed to be a true multi-use arena that could cater for arena tours as well as stadium tours.

The stadium is expected to host an All Blacks test, three major concerts and about 20 other events per year.

Operating costs would be $4.2m more than revenue, to be topped up by the ratepayer. To cover this, in 2025, a ratepayer with a house worth $500,000 would have $88 of their rates go to stadium running costs – about $80 in today's terms.

Council has $4.1m a year budgeted into its long term plan to cover the cost.

Cr Aaron Keown said a lot of other facilities that 'bring goodwill to our city' such as libraries, parks and swimming pools also cost the ratepayer money. He said he thought the benefits outweighed the costs.

Authorities will consider extra funding and revenue sources, including through regional rates and commercial ventures like a sports museum, fan shop or gym.

The stadium will be owned by the council and operated by council events company Vbase. A draft timeline aims for major construction work to start in early 2022, with hopes the stadium will open in spring 2024.

The investment case says the stadium will bring $395.6m in economic benefits, plus others that cannot be quantified.

Without a stadium, Christchurch faces reduced tourism and economic activity, less vibrancy, and delays to other investment in the area.