A giant grass-covered rugby ball, planned as a Rugby World Cup attraction in Napier, has been given the boot.
Plans for the super-sized ball have been scrapped after makers found the grass couldn't survive on the structure.
An inflatable, interactive rugby game will now be installed on Marine Parade instead.
The 10m ball
would have been the main attraction on Napier's waterfront during the tournament, giving visitors the chance to climb inside and have their photo taken.
But regional Rugby World Cup co-ordinator Peter Mooney said a trial on one section of the ball showed grass wouldn't grow on a vertical surface, as all the moisture ran to the bottom.
"As soon as you put it on its edge, as it would be on the ball, then its ability to hold moisture goes away," he said.
"It needed to be alive and growing while it was up for six to seven weeks, otherwise it would die at the top."
The grass seed was sprayed onto foam using a technique called hydroseeding, and would then have been laid on a chicken-wire frame.
Mr Mooney said using ready-lawn was also investigated, but it would have required six tonnes of turf, dramatically driving up costs.
Organisers had spent the past year securing a sponsor for the grass ball, but that backer wouldn't stay on to support the Rugby Rampage promotion.
Mr Mooney said the inflatable game would still be delivered for $33,000, the same cost to ratepayers as the ball project.
"The Rugby Rampage game is a lot more interactive and will provide adults and children with an opportunity to compete against the clock as they run the length of the game," he said.
"It is capable of holding a lot more people per hour than the Big Ball and should be heaps of fun."
Napier Mayor Barbara Arnott said the loss of the ball was a big disappointment.
"I thought that the big grass rugby ball epitomised everything that is New Zealand," she said.
"It was something really quirky and different that would have worked."
Hawke's Bay Chamber of Commerce chief executive Murray Douglas said it was a shame.
He said that the ball would have attracted more visitors to Napier.
"The bouncy game thing is fine, but it's not as quirky as the rugby ball," he said.
"But if it's not to be, we'll just have to make do on our merits, which is our lovely climate, and the hospitality and courtesy of the people who live here."
