An iron rule of the northern New Zealand summer is that at least one storm will throw a spanner in the best-laid plans.
The damaging sub-tropical depression drenching the North Island has disrupted — and not for the first time — the country's premier tennis tournament and left fans whobuild their sports calendar around the ASB Classic wondering when they can expect the event to run to schedule.
The women's contest lost both sessions on Thursday due to driving rain, and was again upset yesterday when the storm failed to move away as quickly as forecast. Capricious weather is beyond the capacity of organisers to control. What the tournament managers and event sponsors ought to settle is the issue of a stadium roof.
It is not an insignificant investment. The last estimate was $18.5 million for a retractable cover over the Stanley St centre court, but that figure is a year old. Tennis Auckland has resource consent for the work, which includes replacing two stands beyond their use-by dates.
The plan was to have a roof ready for the 2020 tournament, but that is by no means a done deal. Before the rain came this week tournament director Karl Budge said while he was certain the arena would get a roof, there was no timeframe for the work.
New Zealand is not the only country which hosts ATP events where matches are played in the open. But Auckland's New Year tournament has an unfortunate history of weather troubles.
The event attracts some terrific talent, and can produce stirring encounters. If the show cannot get by without significant disruption, organisers run the risk that players — and fans — put a lid on their plans to attend.
