Knockout idea Steven, sign that cheque
Dear Steven Joyce, fellow Kapiti College old boy, builder of roads and all-round good guy, do me a favour? Sign a cheque addressed to Duco Events, and allow this massive heavyweight world title fight between Joseph Parker and Andy Ruiz to take place on our beautiful shores.
I’m not asking you to spend a zillion dollars to line the pockets of a few blokes in Auckland.
I’m asking you to think of it as a unique and unexpected opportunity to showcase New Zealand, captivate a country and, all going well inside the ring, build a boxing legacy.
I know what you’re thinking. Duco Events are here to make money, and in hosting a world title fight surely they’d be setting themselves up to cash in. There will be no argument with that thought here. They’re in it to make money, but this is where the fine print comes in.
Stipulate when signing this agreement that the boxing will be free-to-air in New Zealand. It’s a world title fight, so viewership will be huge. Duco can make their pay per view money elsewhere, away from New Zealand.
Also, make sure you have a say in ticket prices. Duco make most of their money on the corporates, so leave them be, but if they plan to pack out Eden Park, make sure the cheap seats are cheap seats. I’m not talking $79.99 for a spot 200 metres from the action. I’m talking $19.99.
You’re putting our taxpayer dollars into this major sporting event, one we have never had the pleasure of hosting, so make sure it works for us Kiwis. Make sure it is something we can actually watch and partake in if we so choose.
Now, I know some of the fine folks out there will have the same old complaint at hand if you allocate funds towards this. You could hire more teachers, doctors, nurses, policemen and firefighters. You could spend that money on our hungry kids, filling their hungry bellies. You get my drift.
But this isn’t about spending hard-earned taxpayer money on things people think are more important.
No doubt, they have a point in saying more should be done to address those key areas. But in this instance we are talking about funds set aside by the Government to invest into major events, sporting or otherwise.
According to the NZ Major Events investment criteria, this event ticks most of the boxes. It can encourage tourism, improve New Zealand’s brand, increase sporting participation and employment opportunities. It will certainly tap into our national identity and sense of pride for New Zealand.
It also seems a much better event to invest money than some of the other events the Government has ’’invested’’ in.
With all due respect, spending $1.5million on a mud festival in Rotorua? Really? How about $900,000 on the Asia-Pacific Amateur Golf Championship in 2017? The tournament won’t come close to the interest of a heavyweight world title boxing bout.
Sign that cheque!