North Harbour Stadium Albany, Auckland. Photo / NZH
North Harbour Stadium Albany, Auckland. Photo / NZH
The future of North Harbour has been thrown into further doubt with revelations North Harbour Rugby is in talks to build a smaller, more compact stadium on the North Shore.
Auckland mayor Wayne Brown told a council meeting on Thursday that North Harbour Stadium at Albanywas a “white elephant” and “we’re probably going to pull it down next year because no one goes there”.
Brown was speaking only days after setting up a “stadiums working group” chaired by councillor Shane Henderson to try and resolve the fraught topic of rationalising the city’s four stadiums - North Harbour, Go Media (formerly Mt Smart), Western Springs and Eden Park.
North Harbour Rugby chief executive Adrian Donald told the Weekend Herald he was not surprised to hear Brown’s comments, saying the rugby union has been “heavily engaged” with the council’s events arm Tātaki Auckland Unlimited arm for the past 15 to 18 months about finding a suitable replacement facility.
He said the 25,000-seat stadium was probably no longer fit-for-purpose, made big losses each year, needed serious investments for things like a new roof costing up to $10 million, and had seismic issues.
If the stadium was replaced, Donald said, it was important North Harbour Rugby had a facility and a home to go to seating 6000 to 8000 spectators, saying NPC games were typically attracting between 2500 and 3000 fans, and more for semifinal games.
The stadium would also be used for football, rugby league and events.
Mayor Wayne Brown at Eden Park to promote the upcoming Fifa Women's World Cup. Photo / Alex Burton
Donald said a smaller stadium could be built next to the existing stadium where Marist University rugby is based, or at Onewa Domain in Northcote, where North Harbour Rugby was formed in 1985 before moving to North Harbour Stadium in 1997.
He said the last time North Harbour Stadium was sold out was 32,000 spectators for the All Blacks match against South Africa in 2017.
The stadium has hosted other international fixtures in rugby, football, baseball and other sports. But in recent years has not been used as frequently as Go Media Stadium or Eden Park, and has not managed to draw large crowds.
This year’s programme of events has included NPC rugby matches, football’s Chatham Cup and Kate Sheppard Cup finals, a Wellington Phoenix A-league women’s match, several Super Rugby women’s games, Auckland Rugby League matches, and six matches in February’s Fifa World Cup play-off tournament.
North Harbour also has facilities for conferences, trade shows, weddings and other functions.
North Harbour Rugby chairman Gerard Van Tilborg said the union had a fair bit of history with North Harbour Stadium that would be difficult to walk away from, saying it put $2m into the project and a couple of individuals guaranteed the completion.
But he said the reality was Tātaki was talking about maximising the value of Go Media Stadium, and not focusing on North Harbour, which was not being maintained in terms of the roof and potential seismic issues.
Brodie Retallick in action for Hawke's Bay against North Harbour in 2022. Photo / NZME
“But it is too big for where we are at today and for us a stadium of 6000 to 8000 would probably be ideal with a bit of high-performance stuff around it.
“What we have been assured of continually…there will be a solution put to us prior to any decisions or actions to knock things down,” said Van Tilborg, whose 10,000-strong union is growing and experiencing a 33 per cent growth in female players.
He said the union was not open to an unworkable solution, saying the facilities at North Harbour had already been wrecked by taking out a chunk of the stadium for the Tuatara baseball team that went into liquidation this year.
Given the cash-strapped position of the council, said Van Tilborg, the large land parcel around the stadium was estimated to be worth about $100m.
James Parkinson, Tātaki director of Auckland Stadiums, confirmed North Harbour Rugby had expressed a desire for a boutique stadium that would better meet its needs.
“That type of venue does not exist within the region’s current stadium network and needs to be considered as part of the region’s overall venue requirements,” he said.
Albany councillor John Watson said demolishing North Harbour to build a smaller stadium was incredibly destructive and wasteful, saying it is Auckland’s newest stadium and was recognised as one of the best rectangular stadiums in New Zealand for watching rugby and rugby league.
“It might just suit North Harbour Rugby here and now, but there is a wider sports offering that has used North Harbour over the years, including the Knights soccer franchise, rugby league tests matches, NRL pre-season games,” said Watson, saying the failing was down to the inability to attract the kind of content it had before the Auckland Council was formed in 2010.
Anna Atkinson, chair of the Upper Harbour Local Board, said it was totally blindsided by the mayor’s comments, saying the board should be part of any discussions and decisions.
“The northern part of Auckland is growing incredibly fast and a stadium is needed to serve the community,” she said.
