Rugby: A park we can be proud of

It is almost five years to the day since former New Zealand Rugby Union chief executive Chris Moller laid out his plans to win the 2011 World Cup hosting rights.

Speaking to the Herald on Sunday on October 10, 2004, he said that one way or another Eden Park would be changed for ever if the bid was successful.

"If we choose to build a new stadium then that is going to have an effect on Eden Park," said Moller. "I think it would be a huge tragedy if we were unable to make a bid because we were unable to build the required stadium.

"All options are on the table at the moment. I think the country needs this to happen and the World Cup is the ideal focus."

It was a story that generated enormous feedback. Eden Park, for all the drama witnessed on it, has seen more emotion, more vitriol and more passionate defence expended off it.

With less than two years before it hosts the opening game of the World Cup, Eden Park is well through the process of change Moller outlined in 2004. The South Stand has been demolished as have the terraces.

Already, some way ahead of schedule, the towering new South Stand that will hold 21,000 people is dominating the Sandringham skyline. It is frighteningly high, cleverly planned with a corporate terrace and panoramic views of Auckland.

It's impossible to stand up there and not be impressed yet, at the same time, ponder what the wow factor could have been had the $380m rebuild been approved with the South Stand sweeping round both ends of the ground to join the existing ASB stand.

But the Government would not stump for the legacy design, leaving Eden Park's World Cup capacity at 60,000 with almost half of those seats uncovered. The old terraces will be rebuilt but with no roof while temporary seats will go up at the West end of the ground giving the stadium a very definite unfinished feel.

Eden Park will be in stark contrast to the last three World Cup final venues - Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Telstra Stadium in Sydney and Stade France in Paris - which were state-of-the-art, effectively built from scratch and fully covered.

Yet, while Eden Park will clearly not be in the same league as previous World Cup venues, Rugby New Zealand 2011 chief executive Martin Snedden is quietly confident it will still be "the surprise of the tournament".

"I think the end product is going to be very high quality and people will be surprised by how good it is. What was one of the major risks both operationally and in a perception sense has come a long way and is going to be one of the surprise packages.

"I'm pretty relaxed about the uncovered seats. The final is late October and we will be pretty close to summer. If it was in June or July then I would have concerns but I don't think people will hold back from buying tickets."

It's not just the sheer size and detail of the new South Stand that is driving Snedden's conviction.

What's not been fully appreciated until now, with the demolition having been completed, is how much better access in and around the stadium will be.

Visitors to the site can see how the concourse will improve the flow of people and how the stadium will blend into its residential surroundings.

Moller, the man who sealed Eden Park's fate by leading New Zealand's successful World Cup bid, says the key issue for him was never really about where the stadium was or what it looked like - it was about having something with the minimum 60,000 capacity.

"In June 2004 we decided to go ahead and do the work around all the options for a stadium. We looked at Eden Park, Carlaw Park, the Tank Farm and a greenfield site outside of Auckland.

"You have to remember that previous World Cup finals had been played in stadiums with capacities of 80,000-plus. The question was always capacity and we wouldn't have had a look in if we didn't have a minimum of 60,000 seats.

"It was worthwhile to go through the debate about the waterfront and other sites. No solution is perfect but I am very pleased with the outcome and it's better to have a redeveloped Eden Park and a World Cup rather than no development and no World Cup."

* The Eden Park story

October 2004: NZRU chief executive Chris Moller reveals either a new stadium or a revamped Eden Park will be necessary to host the 2011 World Cup.

November 2005: New Zealand wins 2011 World Cup hosting rights with the bid including a $25 million proposition to add temporary seats to existing Eden Park.

February 2006: Herald on Sunday reveals that plans have changed and a $200 million-plus revamp of Eden Park is tabled.

June 2006: An updated proposal to build a horseshoe design to join to the existing ASB stand is unveiled with a projected cost of $320 million.

September 2006: Government unveils its own plans to ditch Eden Park redevelopment and build new National Stadium on the Waterfront at cost of $500 million.

October 2006: Eden Park responds with improved legacy design to roof all three sides of the horseshoe design for $380 million.

December 2006: Government figure of $500 million proves to be well off the mark - surveyors put the cost closer to $900 million - and concerns rise about ability to build waterfront option in time for World Cup.

February 2007: Government has to back down as waterfront option fails to win council support amid fears of cost and delivery.

March 2007: Eden Park gets the go-ahead but Government drops funding leaving the stadium with a renovation budget of $240 million which means no roof for old terraces and minimal improvements to the West stand.