$27m events centre gets a hurry-up

Tourism Auckland is excited about the events centre and its panoramic location so close to the central city.

Plans to build a $27 million marine events centre at the Viaduct Harbour have been brought forward, and it could be open in time for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

The events centre will be built on the Halsey St wharf extension, on the site of the old Team New Zealand base.

Moller Architects has done an open design with a wave-like roof and a 25m-wide promenade fronting the Viaduct Harbour.

The council plans to spend another $2.6 million on the promenade and other landscape features.

Several have prompted the council to build the events centre during the economic recession. Planning for it started in 2003 when the council bought Team New Zealand's former base for $230,000.

The council has an obligation to obtain resource consent now. Once it has consent, it must vacate the old Alinghi base that has been used for several big events, including Fashion Week, the Auckland Seafood Festival, Auckland Art Fair, Auckland Marathon and Boat Show.

Failure to provide an alternative venue could have a serious effect on these events, which are estimated to be worth $86 million to the city's economy, says a report to the council.

The report said delaying construction of the events centre until 2016 or 2017 would also reduce the city's ability to attract and hold events such as the Volvo Round the World Ocean Race in 2012 and three events for the World Rally Championships between 2010 and 2016.

Rally New Zealand is keen to use the events centre for the second and third events.

Tourism Auckland is excited about the events centre and its panoramic location so close to the central city.

The council is juggling its budget to enable the project to go ahead.

It has deferred plans for the $51.2 million Te Wero bridge linking the Viaduct Harbour with Jellicoe St at the Tank Farm. It until 2015 or 1016.

City development committee chairman Aaron Bhatnagar said it was hoped to have the events centre completed for the Rugby World Cup.

But more importantly it would act as a catalyst for the Tank Farm development.

The $1 billion-plus Tank Farm development on the western edge of the city is likely to go on the back burner for several years because of the recession and the depressed state of the property market.