Eden Park, one of two proposals, to be crowned Auckland's 'Main Stadium'.
Eden Park, one of two proposals, to be crowned Auckland's 'Main Stadium'.
The so-called “stadium wars” in Auckland have been raging for years – and the council’s latest decision could cause deja vu for Aucklanders.
In 2006, the debate over civic leaders’ indecision over choosing Eden Park or a waterfront stadium prompted then-Auckland Mayor Dick Hubbard to say that the “stadium saga” had illustrated the "divided nature of the City of Sails“.
The 60,000-seat stadium had widely been seen as the Government’s preference over an upgrade of Eden Park. The then Sports Minister Trevor Mallard announced the Government of the day wanted the waterfront stadium built in time for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
But alas, the potential for a waterfront venue for New Zealand’s largest city would remain a pipedream for the next 19 years. And perhaps, 19 more.
Last week, the battle popped into the public’s consciousness again, with Auckland Council voting to throw its support behind a plan to upgrade Eden Park, over a proposed new stadium on the city’s waterfront.
Both proposals require significant public funding, with Eden Park seeking $110 million from the Government.
NZ Herald sports writer Michael Burgess told The Front Page that the council decided to partly endorse Eden Park’s proposal.
“They’re not saying you go ahead and do everything you want. They’re saying we think you might be the best option and we’re gonna endorse part one, but there’s no money for it.
“It feels like they still haven’t completely made their mind up. But, I guess you can interpret it in the first instance as a slight vote of confidence in Eden Park’s proposal. But, it’s still contingent on so many things, especially the fact that there’s no money for it,” he said.
Burgess said questions remain over how the upgrades will be funded.
The governing body made it clear: “The council has no plans to provide ratepayer funding for it.”
“The Government has sort of said, well wait a minute, this is an Auckland thing. This is a council thing. We may get involved with some legislation with some fast-tracking. We might help in the future. But Auckland, this is really your baby,” he said.
Image of the proposed new precinct at Quay Park, Te Toangaroa Stadium,featuring the downtown stadium, hotels, commerical, retail and residental space....February 09, 2024...Photo / Supplied...NZH 10Feb24 -...NZH 18Feb24 - An artist's impression of the proposed Quay Park stadium.
The Quay Park waterfront stadium lost out on being considered the city’s “main stadium”. The backers promised a 50,000-seat stadium as the centrepiece for the redevelopment of Quay Park with up to four hotels, hospitality, scope for 2000 apartments, and commercial offices.
It lost out, however, to “Eden Park 2.1″ – which would increase the stadium’s capacity to 60,000, add a retractable roof, a new north stand, upgrades to two other grandstands, and a pedestrian promenade to Sandringham Rd.
Burgess said the conversation should never have been about the stadiums – it should have focused on what is best for Auckland.
“My big thing is what could unlock the potential of the city? And it seems to me it’s pretty obvious that downtown, the city centre, is slowly dying. It’s really hard to get people in there, really hard to drag people into Queen St, on to the waterfront.
“Businesses are struggling. So, I guess the appeal of Quay Park for me was that... having that precinct and the stadium there drags people into the city.
“You imagine having an All Blacks game there, having a concert downtown, having a big Warriors game on a Sunday afternoon. Suddenly, thousands of people are in the city spending their money.
“Whereas Eden Park, we’ve seen that it’s got limitations for the sporting codes. It’s got limitations in terms of where it is, and it’s certainly got limitations in terms of the fact that it hasn’t been able to pay for itself.
“So if you put those two things beside each other, then it seems pretty compelling to me that Quay Park would’ve been quite an exciting option for Auckland in terms of providing an economic boost for the long term,” he said.
Auckland Council said next steps for Eden Park 2.1 involves working with key stakeholders, including central government, to implement the Stadium Investment Framework.
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.
