Auckland councillors have finally decided what to do with Western Springs Stadium after years of debate. Photo / Auckland Council
By Jessica Hopkins of RNZ
Plans to build a Hollywood Bowl-inspired structure for live music events at Western Springs Stadium have been given the green light by the Auckland Council.
The stadium would also continue to be used for rugby union matches and for community sports, in a proposal that has been dubbed the Western Springs Bowl.
After years of debate, a majority of 15 councillors today voted to go ahead with a proposal spearheaded by concert promoter Brent Eccles to build a Hollywood Bowl-inspired structure for live music events.
Only six out of 21 councillors - Christine Fletcher, John Gillon, Mike Lee, Greg Sayers, Ken Turner and John Watson - wanted to continue exploring other options, including bringing speedway racing back to Western Springs, where it had been for a century.
Auckland councillors controversially voted to move speedway to Onehunga’s Waikaraka Park in 2024.
Concert promoter Brent Eccles presented his idea for the council-owned venue at the council’s governing body meeting on Tuesday.
Eccles said that with a few tweaks, Western Springs could become a world-class concert venue, attracting overseas artists.
“Our inspiration is the Hollywood Bowl, to bring to life an existing Auckland asset, with its own place in the landscape of New Zealand concert venues.
“Western Springs is a rare asset for a major city. A large capacity, central, natural amphitheatre with flat grassed areas, concrete terraces, toilet facilities, and permanent ticket entry gates.
“Few other cities have anything like this, and those that do, such as the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles or Red Rocks in Denver, hold them close.”
He suggested the stadium host concerts during the summer and rugby during the winter.
Peter Thorp, who spoke at the meeting on behalf of the Ponsonby Rugby Club, supported that idea.
Ponsonby Rugby Club faced uncertainty about where it would be with its lease at Western Springs expiring.
Thorp said the proposal was an opportunity to improve the stadium’s infrastructure, including adding more seating closer to the sideline.
“When we saw the promoters’ idea, we saw the opportunity to be able to do that in a sustainable way, in a community-led way that provides for other community users, and achieve what we believe is a better use of the stadium.
“That’s pretty attractive to us.”
The Western Springs Bowl proposal would extend the rugby club’s lease for five more years, with the option for the council to terminate the lease with two years’ notice.
It was estimated that $2.5 million of public funding would be required to build a permanent stage structure and for other upgrades to the stadium. That would come out of the council’s economic and cultural agency Tātaki Auckland Unlimited’s existing budget.
About 100 Speedway Association members wearing Save Our Speedway T-shirts attended the meeting at Auckland’s Town Hall.
The Speedway Association was represented by their lawyer, Bronwyn Carruthers, KC, who argued the council had not given speedway at Western Springs adequate consideration.
“The proposal that has been put forward by the association provides for speedway, events, Ponsonby Rugby, and other rectangular field sports events. It’s the superior option.”
Throughout the meeting, speedway supporters booed, including at Auckland Unlimited chairwoman Vicki Salmon, who defended council staff’s recommendation to move speedway to Waikaraka.
“It’s not going to suit everyone. But this is about what’s best for Auckland, what’s best for Western Springs.”
Almost 15,000 Aucklanders gave their opinion on how the stadium should be used going forward in 2025.
But with the council adviser’s preferred option for Western Springs, a privately funded football and concert venue, being pulled by Auckland Football Club’s rich-list owners, councillors had to pick another option, delaying a decision until this year.
On Tuesday, Councillor John Gillon said the council’s consultation process had been flawed.
“Consultation was undertaken without a clear option to include speedway, despite it being a significant and well-supported activity at the stadium for the last 96 years.
“Due to not being provided their preferred option, supporters of speedway appear to have split their responses between Option 3a (‘Keep things as they are’), which received 16% of responses, and Option 3b (‘Explore other ideas’), which received 33% of responses (the highest supported option). Options 3a and 3b totalled 49% of responses. Around 30% of all submissions made actual comments relating to keeping speedway, in addition to their selected option.”
He proposed that the public be consulted again, with two clear options - the Western Springs Bowl and the Speedway Association’s proposal to get a more accurate picture of what the public wanted.
However, his amendment was voted down 15 to six.
Councillors also had the option to do nothing.
But Tātaki Auckland Unlimited staff advised councillors to make a decision on Tuesday.
That was despite an upcoming legal challenge over the decision to end speedway at Western Springs
The Speedway Association is taking the council to the High Court, with a judicial review expected to take place in July.
-RNZ