Auckland FC pivoted on plans to create their own home base and are now planning to seek to stay longer in its council-controlled split-stadium situation.
The owners of the A-League club this month withdrew their plans to transform Western Springs Stadiuminto Auckland Arena which would have been their home ground and training facility.
Challenges with public land led them to withdraw their proposal for the privately funded venue, according to the club.
Auckland FC chief executive officer Nick Becker said the length of the deals with the two stadiums nearly 30km apart could be secured for longer terms, as both suited the club’s current set-up.
The shorter contract with North Harbour Stadium was a precautionary move: Becker said when the club came into existence last year they were unsure how the space would work for their needs.
The club made several modifications – putting in a kitchen, gym, transforming corporate boxes into offices and a creating a players’ lounge – to feel more at home.
“The guys love it up here,” Becker said of the Albany base, where the players are a couple of weeks into pre-season training before the A-League kicks off on October 17.
“We’re going to need additional facilities obviously for our women’s team when it comes on, our youth, our reserves, our football schools.
“We’re really happy up at North Harbour. We’d love to continue to be here for a longer term.
“I think as a space relatively central, there’s so much potential here to create a really fantastic home for our professional teams and our youth teams.
“What sort of development that requires, we’re not sure about that right now, but I’d definitely love to see some development here into a more high-performance centre.”
North Harbour Stadium is home to football and rugby sides. Photo / Photosport
Auckland FC are not the first to float the idea of turning the stadium and surrounds into a high-performance or sporting hub – it is an idea that has been around for decades – but the timing might be right.
Tātaki Auckland Unlimited (TAU) was this month retained as operator of North Harbour Stadium and the surrounding Domain Precinct after a better alternative could not be found.
The council-controlled organisation’s chief executive Nick Hill said TAU “will pursue a refocused operational model at North Harbour Stadium”.
The search for a new operator by the North Harbour Steering Group had aimed to find an operator that could deliver increased connection with the community and improved financial performance.
The steering group, with TAU, was now working to determine the long-term future of North Harbour Stadium and Domain Precinct, focusing on the most appropriate ownership, funding, governance, improvements and operational management model, which was expected to take until December next year to be decided.
Auckland FC have shared the training field space with Super Rugby Pacific side Moana Pasifika and their game-day home ground with the Warriors NRL club.
Scheduling clashes were avoided last season during the crossover in the A-League and NRL seasons at the stadium in Penrose.
Becker said he had a draft draw for the 2025/26 A-League season that would have a “few tweaks” before “key fixtures” were drip-fed to fans next week.
