Auckland waterfront $1.8b stadium plan

AUCKLAND: Bold plans for a new national stadium sunken into the Auckland waterfront are being unveiled today to gauge public support.

The stadium will cost $1.8 billion and could be built within 10 years at zero cost to ratepayers and taxpayers, says the Auckland Waterfront Consortium.

The ‘‘spectacular landmark’’ is the most serious proposal for a waterfront stadium since the hotly debated proposal for a Governmentfunded stadium for the 2011 Rugby World Cup was rejected by local politicians in 2006.

The fully enclosed stadium would seat 50,000 for rugby, rugby league and football matches, concerts and cultural events, and would be capable of being increased to 65,000 seats for major events like another Rugby World Cup.

Cricket will be played on a new oval tentatively planned by Auckland Council’s facilities arm at Western Springs.

The stadium will be built alongside a redeveloped Bledisloe Wharf at Ports of Auckland, partly on reclaimed land and partly sunk into the seabed about 28m below sea level.

Other features are a floating roof above sea level to reduce the loss of harbour views and the removal of Captain Cook Wharf, at present used for car imports.

The consortium said the sunken stadium will be designed and built to accepted seismic principles and modelling to protect against rising sea levels and tsunami.

‘‘Our proposal is exciting, very ambitious, but represents a superb solution for the waterfront and the city as a whole. Importantly it is financially feasible and achievable,’’ says consortium chairman and property valuer Dave Wigmore.

Deputy chairman Michael Sage, a partner at big city law firm Simpson Grierson, said the consortium is going out to the public to gauge support.

To fund the stadium, the consortium wants the rights to build housing on 9ha at Eden Park and develop Bledisloe Wharf along the lines of Wynyard Quarter with apartments, commercial buildings and public space.

This would see the end of Eden Park, a fortress for the All Blacks and home of many of New Zealand’s most memorable sporting moments. It would also require the new and used cars business being moved from the port.

The consortium plans to test the feasibility of the project over the next 12 to 18 months.

If it stacks up, it will seek a lead developer who will pay for the land and believes a reconstituted Eden Park Trust Board is the logical party to own and operate the stadium.

Mr Sage said the crucial question for Aucklanders is whether they want the waterfront to be a car park and ugly industrial site or ‘‘absolutely world class and something to be proud of’’. — NZME