Two wealthy businessmen are teaming up to keep speedway at its Western Springs home of 97 years and build a health, sports and lifestyle complex at the outdoor stadium site.
Weeks after American billionaires Bill Foley and Bennett Rosenthal, along with former All Black Ali Williams and his entrepreneur wife Anna Mowbray, walked away from a proposed $200 million to $300m football stadium at Western Springs, details of a new plan have emerged.
Terry Michaels, owner of Heath & Sports Fitness Club in Morningside for the past 17 years, has joined forces with Western Springs Speedway Association (WSSA) to propose a major redevelopment of the site.
The plan includes reinstating the speedway track and building a new health and sports facility that could potentially accommodate Ponsonby Rugby.
WSSA chairman Lance Anderson said he would like to establish a charitable trust to oversee operations at the 11ha Western Springs site.
He estimated it would cost about $500,000 to restore the speedway track. A broader redevelopment, including new clubrooms and a speedway museum, could cost up to $20m, he said.
“Western Springs is the grand old lady of Auckland, of speedway, concerts, rugby and other community activities, and it should stay that way.
“I would put my hand up to run it … and make the place work for everybody,” said Anderson, a successful businessman with automotive companies in New Zealand and Australia.
Michaels, speaking from Australia, described his contribution as a “cradle-to-the-grave” health and fitness offering, featuring a gymnasium, 25m swimming pool, children’s pool, on-site physiotherapist, child-minding services and a cafe all under one roof.
He said the model relied on the council providing land on a peppercorn lease, allowing the facility to operate under a membership model with affordable pricing for daily community use.
“It’s a substantial investment and it only works with a long tenure,” Michaels said, adding there would be no call on council funding. He planned to invest his own money in the project and, if necessary, bring in additional investors.
“I can’t understand why there would be any resistance by the council or its agencies to a model that is not going to cost them anything and serves the wider community. It’s a no-brainer.”
The decision to shelve the Auckland Arena football proposal has left the council’s stadium operator, Tātaki Auckland Unlimited (TAU), in limbo over the future of Western Springs Stadium.
It followed a contentious council vote last year, passed 12-8, to invest $11m in upgrading Waikaraka Park in Onehunga for speedway and stock car racing.
Under an agreement, the Auckland Stock and Saloon Car Club becomes the lessee of the upgraded venue through to 2050, with Bruce Robertson of Palmerston North Speedway Ltd (PNSL) continuing to promote speedway and saloon car events at the Onehunga venue.
Anderson was concerned the agreement offered no long-term security for speedway at Waikaraka Park beyond the next two seasons.
“Stock cars have got everything they wanted. Waikaraka Park needed a tidy-up. It was a mess, and I wholeheartedly agree something had to be done, but not at the expense of Western Springs.”
Robertson confirmed the two-year agreement for speedway, but noted the intention was for the open-wheel motorsport to continue at Waikaraka beyond that period.
A spokeswoman for Mayor Wayne Brown referred questions about the latest plan for Western Springs to TAU.
TAU chief executive Nick Hill, whose organisation has been unable to find a commercial operator for Western Springs Stadium after beginning a search in June last year, said it had not received a new proposal from WSSA.
He confirmed TAU had previously received two versions of an unsolicited proposal from WSSA, submitted six months after the formal process for expressions of interest closed.
“The proposal was not formally considered as it was non-compliant,” he said, noting the latest plan appeared to differ from earlier versions.
Hill said upgrades at Waikaraka Park were on track for completion before the upcoming summer season, with speedway and stock car events set to continue. PNSL was relocating speedway operations to Onehunga, and an amended lease now guaranteed speedway’s presence at Waikaraka Park until 2050.
“No final decision has been made about the long-term use of Western Springs,” he said, saying councillors were expected to consider options later this term.
Councillor Christine Fletcher said she became aware of Michaels’ proposal before this month’s local body elections, but had not seen a business case.
“Our facilities have to begin paying for themselves. If there were a credible business case put up, then we should look at it.”
Ponsonby Rugby Club chairman Greg Edmonds said the club remained in constructive discussions with TAU about the future of Western Springs Stadium and was hopeful of a positive outcome next year.
The rugby club teamed up with two music promoters to challenge the Auckland Arena proposal. The plan involved CRS and Eccles Entertainment building concert infrastructure at their own cost, and Ponsonby Rugby developing a multi-sport hub costing $18m-$20m, which was likely to require some council funding.
Edmonds said the club was unaware of the latest plans for the site, but reiterated its desire to stay. “That may be the outcome, but there’s still a bit of water to go under the bridge.”
The abandoned football stadium is the latest in a series of unrealised stadium proposals put forward by TAU, its predecessor Regional Facilities Auckland and the council.
Since a stadium strategy was launched in 2012, other plans have included the Warriors sharing Eden Park with the Blues and domestic cricket moving to Western Springs; upgrading Mt Smart and shifting speedway to Waikaraka Park; repeated talk of a waterfront stadium; and relocating speedway to Colin Dale Park in Wiri.
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