Councillors to discuss future ownership of TET Stadium this year

The future of the TET stadium is to come under discussion this year.

A discussion on the future ownership of Stratford's TET Stadium by councillors, set for next month, has been postponed.

Stratford District Council chief executive, Sven Hanne, says the postponement is because the TET building is also the subject of other reports coming to Council in the next couple of months.

"Decisions from those reports could then change the nature of the discussion, so they need to be made first."

In an information report contained in the Policy and Services Committee meeting on March 26, chief executive Sven Hanne said the current lease will expire at the end of June this year.

On expiry of the lease Council would assume ownership of the building, he said.

Sven says while the lessees currently own the building, and Council owns the land it is on, the building itself becomes owned by Council at the end of the current lease.

"This is a requirement under the Reserves Act for any lease granted on reserve land."

In the report, he said the current lease and management model did not appear to be optimising the use of the facility, or be in the best interests of all the sporting groups using the reserve upon which the building sits.

"The expiry of the current lease presents an opportunity to establish an improved model and ensure future management is in the best interests of the relevant sporting groups, and the community as a whole."

He said council is in conversation with the current lessees regarding possible changes.

"The lessee has been advised of Council's position and discussions toward effecting changes are currently in progress. If negotiations cannot be finalised by June 30, it is anticipated the current lease will simply run on a month by month basis until the matter can be resolved."

The report gives a timeframe of next month for a decision to reach Council about any governance changes and any future role Council might play in the future management.

He also advised elected members the facility has been identified as the most likely site for Council's civil defence welfare centre, allowing the war memorial centre to become the future Emergency Operations Centre for the district in a civil defence emergency. This requirement would be carried into any future arrangement regarding the building, he said.

Another possibility Councillors needed to be aware of was of the site being a potential location for the new swimming pool Council has committed to building in 2021.

"Any lease or ownership arrangement will be deferred until this has been confirmed or ruled out."

He says the TET is one of several potential sites currently being considered for the new pool.

"In the case of the TET stadium, we are considering options where the pool could be located alongside or attached to, the current building."

That decision is likely to be made by the end of the financial year.

■ Disclosure: Ilona Hanne is married to Stratford District Council CEO, Sven Hanne.