Eden Park downsize on track

Workmen are working with cranes to pull down the seating and scaffolding. File photo / Sarah Ivey

The huge job of dismantling and shipping 12,000 temporary seats from Eden Park after the Rugby World Cup is running a fortnight ahead of schedule.

Project director Scott Hayward of GL Events said contractual arrangements with the Eden Park Trust Board meant his business had to be off the site shortly.

"But it will all be gone within the next two weeks, which is two weeks ahead of schedule. The job has gone well," he said, citing settled weather.

Seating in the temporary east stand had been dismantled but work was continuing at the other end of the park.

"The west stand will be down by Saturday. It's almost finished. We had to pour a huge amount of concrete foundations which we will lift up again. We will load containers and be out of here by Christmas," Hayward said.

Eighty containers would be needed to move the gear to Europe.

"It's a big logistical operation and we are very happy with the way it has gone," he said, responding to criticism from a Herald caller who claimed late payments.

"We've still got most of the people working here. We would not leave without paying everyone. That's just not what we do. We operate on jobs everywhere around the world.

"We're an international company and we pay people possibly slower than they would want but that's just unfortunately the way we have to do it," he said, adding that employees were mostly paid monthly and subcontractors according to arrangements made between the businesses.

About 30 people were on the site but at its peak about 100 were dismantling the gear for the job, which started on October 31.

"That's when we took possession back and, since then, it's been all systems go," he said.

The temporary seating was built to a high standard to meet code compliance demands and had major seismic aspects.

Hayward noted there was an Auckland earthquake near Rangitoto Island in June but he wasn't worried by it.

Three engineering firms worked on the temporary seating project including Beca.

"We were thrilled with the design. The system has never been used before down here and we knew it was going to get a wow factor.

"There was a huge amount of design, calculations and engineering works involved," he said.

The temporary seating was hired to Eden Park by GL Events, and will now be shipped to London as part of 103,000 temporary seats at the Olympic Games next year.