Separate spots for feuding co-owners

This year, they'll watch the on-field action in corporate boxes on either side of the stadium. Photos / NZPA, Getty

Warring owners to watch Nines in corporate boxes on opposite sides of park

Warring Warriors owners Eric Watson and Sir Owen Glenn will be kept on opposite sides of Eden Park when they attend the NRL Auckland Nines at the end of this month.

The two have clashed several times, including in a heated row which Sir Owen later reported to police.

At last year's Nines Sir Owen threatened to withdraw the Warriors from the event's final day after a carpark row with a security guard.

This year, they will watch the on-field action in corporate boxes on either side of the stadium during the two-day tournament, as their legal battles over hundreds of millions of dollars rages.

Warriors chief executive Jim Doyle was at pains to point out the decision to split corporate boxes was not due to the ongoing battle between the co-owners, rather due to the club hosting a large number of VIPs.

"There was a lot of people interested in the Nines. We can't fit them all into one suite so I said, 'Let's take two and let's make sure we've got owners and directors [in both boxes]'. I'll flit between them both."

The suites will be in the Northern and Southern stands, which have separate car parks and entrances so the two, who also had a public spat last year over the departure of coach Matthew Elliott, will not bump into each other.

Doyle, who started as chief executive in December, said the feuding co-owners had promised to keep their differences out of the spotlight this year, after it became a major distraction for the club in 2014.

"Both of them want to do the right thing for the Warriors. They understand issues they personally may have need to be sorted out behind the scenes rather than [in public]. It has a detrimental effect and neither of them want that to happen."

Battlelines were drawn between the co-owners when Sir Owen voiced concerns over the decision to fire Elliott in April last year.

At last year's Nines tournament, Sir Owen threatened to pull the Warriors from the second day of the tournament when he was blocked from exiting the stadium. The Warriors later apologised to the NRL for his comments.

Relations with Watson deteriorated after the tournament. Sir Owen claimed he was "threatened, abused and physically intimidated" at a heated meeting between the owners in the Mt Smart Stadium boardroom.

Sir Owen laid a police complaint, which was dismissed, Watson labelling it a "PR stunt" that caused "valuable police time to be wasted".

Their fight for control of the Warriors may be heading for the courts, but it is dwarfed by an offshore legal battle over their joint-venture investment company with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake.

Sir Owen was in Fiji this week and did not return calls. Watson, who is on holiday in New Zealand, did not wish to comment.

On Friday 38,000 tickets had been sold for the weekend with 7000 still available. Supermodel Heidi Klum, who will be in New Zealand to promote a new Bendon line, may attend as a guest of Watson.