Controversial stadium plan back on

The controversial sports stadium project at Okara Park in Whangarei is back on the agenda.

This time the scheme is being driven by a Northland Rugby Union (NRU) initiative to demolish the existing grandstand and rebuild it with retail stores on the ground floor.

But the topic is being viewed as such a hot potato that the Whangarei District Council is set to bring in outside consultants and appoint an independent commissioner to run the public submission process on the plan.

The NRU has applied to the district council for land use consent for retail activities on the Okara Stadium site and is in the midst of formulating plans to build a new grandstand on the existing terraces, realign the playing field and install state-of-the- art facilities.

That part of the redevelopment alone may cost between $15 and $20 million.

Then the existing grandstand would be demolished to make way for a new stand complete with commercial office space and retail outlets underneath.

It is a bold move from the NRU, but one chairman Wayne Peters says could determine the future of the stadium.

"Depending on the size of the consent it is conceivable to cost anywhere between $15 and $20 million, but that will depend what sort of add-on facilities we have," Mr Peters said.

Without the ability to rent out retail space the stadium project becomes a "funding nightmare".

But with regular rental income Mr Peters believes the stadium could generate enough income to make the project viable.

There is the possibility of 10,000 square metres of commercial office and retail space under the new grandstand.

Mr Peters said the proposed development would place Northland firmly back on the sporting map with the retail arm of the stadium a first in the country.

The NRU move comes just six months after the Northland Regional Council decided not to fund a $30 million regional multi-use events centre with a proposed regional rates strike.

After some fierce public debate, regional councillors backed down on that proposal. It was dropped fromthe NRC's 2005-06 draft annual plan and the whole project put on the backburner.

But since then the district council has handed control of the ratepayer-owned rugby stadium to the union for a token $1-a-year lease.

- NORTHERN ADVOCATE (WHANGAREI)