By KEVIN TAYLOR
HAMILTON - A delay in pinning down final pricing for the Waikato twin-stadium project has put the construction start-date back to mid-November.
The news follows the granting of $675,000 to the project yesterday by the Waikato Foundation Trust.
The trust also decided not to underwrite the project for $400,000, but
neither the Hamilton City Council nor the Waikato Stadium Trust is concerned that the stadiums' viability will be threatened.
The stadium trust presented a revised $28.5 million plan to the council last Friday after an impasse between Trust Waikato and the council and WEL Energy Trust over naming rights.
The project was originally costed at $30 million.
Trust Waikato, a community funding body, had offered to underwrite the project for $1.5 million but the council and WEL trust do not want the rugby ground to have commercial naming rights.
Council chief executive Tony Marryatt said yesterday that the stadium trust did not expect to finalise the guaranteed top price of the project until November 15.
But the delay was not expected to stop the new rugby ground being ready for the start of next year's NPC season.
The council decided recently to grant $9 million subject to conditions, including that the stadium trust provide guaranteed maximum price information.
Work at Rugby Park had been due to start this month.
The council's final funding confirmation meeting is now not expected to be held until the middle of November.
Stadium trust chairman David Braithwaite said preparatory site work should still begin early next month, with construction proper starting in the middle of the month.
The WestpacTrust cricket ground will also be upgraded as part of the project.
The foundation trust's $675,000 grant brings its total contribution to $1.1 million.
The trust is made up of community trustees and the mayors of the Hamilton City Council and Waikato and Waipa District Councils. It finances some council projects.
