The Front Page: Stadium wars - Should we renovate Eden Park or build a waterfront stadium?

Eden Park would become the centrepiece of a national and regional stadium strategy. Image / Eden Park Trust

The line has been drawn in the sand in terms of what Auckland’s future biggest stadium should look like.

The city faces a choice between a new waterfront stadium or a revamped Eden Park, amid a pair of proposals from interested groups.

New Zealand Herald sports reporter Bonnie Jansen tells The Front Page podcast that Eden Park’s bold plan will turn the current stadium into a 60,000-capacity all-weather fortress complete with a retractable roof.

This comes only weeks before the Auckland Waterfront Consortium is set to reveal an update to its $1.8 billion proposal for a waterfront stadium, first announced in 2018.

“There’ll be stadium wars now,” says Jansen.

“But hopefully, by doing this and having two ideas in the mix, we’ll get some kind of outcome.”

Jansen says this will no doubt spark public debate about what Auckland should be focusing on as it looks to develop a stadium that compares to international venues.

Even Eden Park, which was upgraded for the 2011 Rugby World Cup - the same year Dunedin’s covered Forsyth Barr Stadium opened - lags well behind those in other countries.

“New Zealand is quite low maintenance [in terms of our stadiums] because that’s all we’ve ever known and it’s what we used to. But the lucky New Zealanders who have been to overseas stadiums will know how far behind we actually are,” Jansen says.

The problem with any proposal of this nature is the level of investment it will require. The new Christchurch stadium, for instance, recently saw its costs blow out to $683 million - offering a glimpse at how expensive even the best-laid plans could become.

“The Christchurch stadium will cost $150 million more than what was initially anticipated,” Jansen says.

“Not everyone will agree with me, but as a sports fan, New Zealand is behind in the sporting scene and it’s an investment worth making. What comes for us in return in the long term is hosting those massive [sporting and entertainment] events, so it’s worth it.”

On top of the cost, another issue that will have to be addressed is the level of disruption both of these projects are likely to cause to the surrounding communities. These plans will take many years to come to fruition and Aucklanders have already had their lives severely disrupted by key infrastructure projects around the city. Navigating through these tensions will not be easy for any of the parties involved.

So which idea has the upper hand? Will either project ever see the light of day? And what do politicians think about these ideas?

Listen to the full episode of The Front Page to hear answers to these questions and more.