Stadium condemned
Yarrow Stadium Blanton Smith blanton.smith@stuff.co.nz Taranaki’s rugby team is without a home after Yarrow Stadium was condemned because of safety issues.
In a statement yesterday stadium owner the Taranaki Stadium Trust said public safety was behind the decision to make Yarrow Stadium unavailable as the Mitre 10 Cup home base for the Yarrows Taranaki Bulls in 2018 because both stands were an earthquake risk.
Geotechnical testing on the stadium’s West Stand showed the ground stability of the bank beneath it was a significant earthquake risk.
Reports into the West Stand were commissioned after a November report found the stadium’s East Stand was earthquake-prone.
The East Stand, of which the Taranaki Rugby Football Union was a tenant, was vacated in November last year and a decision on its future is yet to be decided.
‘‘It’s a real blow and we apologise to everyone involved. The Trust informed key partners, including the TRFU, of the report’s findings yesterday,’’ trustee Mike Nield said.
The East and West Stands were built by Fletcher Construction in 2002, at a cost of $17million. In 2009/10 the stadium underwent a significant $1.7m upgrade to improve the venue to Rugby World Cup standard and increase its capacity from 17,000 to 24,138, including 1920 temporary seats. And it’s been less than a year since a $2.860 million upgrade to the hospitality centre, which featured a new kitchen and food and beverage facilities, was finished at the West Stand.
TRFU chief executive Jeremy Parkinson said the news had only been brought to the union’s
attention in the last 24 hours. Parkinson said there were minimum requirements for stadiums and the union was working with New Zealand Rugby and Sky TV to identify alternative venues.
Most home games are night fixtures and having the right lighting levels was one of the major factors being looked at, Parkinson said.
‘‘They [NZR] understand our situation and are working with us to find a venue that can accommodate the Taranaki Bulls.’’
Parkinson said the first two preseason Ranfurly Shield defences were being played in Tikorangi and Ha¯ wera, so rugby was already being taken outside of Yarrow Stadium and into the community.
He said half the union’s income was tied to the stadium in some form.
‘‘It’s a massive disruption. ‘‘We can only control what’s in front of us but it does have big commercial impacts.’’
Parkinson was unsure if the union could claim for any compensation because of the closure.
Up until December last year, after the East Stand was condemned, the union did not have business disruption insurance and because the stadium’s closure was not linked to a single event whether a claim could be made was a ‘‘grey area’’, he said.
Parkinson said since being vacated from the East Stand the union had been working on a back up plan for season ticket holders, sponsors and hospitality and
had secured the TURN TO PAGE 2
use of the Star Gym, Spotswood United club and the West Stand.
‘‘We got dealt a pretty tough blow with the east stand being ruled out last year.
‘‘That plan has been unfolding over the last eight weeks but the hand brake’s been pulled and we’ve gone back to square one.
‘‘We’re 10 weeks out and under the pump.
Parkinson said there were positives and all the team could do was control what happened out on the pitch.
‘‘We’ve still got a strong roster, we’ve got a good draw, we’ve got the shield and we will be bringing the shield to the community.’’
Parkinson said the first preseason Ranfurly Shield matches would be held in Tikorangi and Ha¯ wera.
Nield said it was too early to speculate on the future of the stadium but the TST would continue investigating the next steps.
‘‘This is a blow but we remain committed to having a facility in Taranaki capable of hosting topflight sporting events. We’ll be looking at our options and while the loss of Yarrow for 2018 is a setback, it gives us opportunities to look at some of the different choices available to us,’’ Nield said.
Yarrow Stadium is owned by the Taranaki Stadium Trust. It is operated by the New Plymouth District Council, who is offering its support to its partners.
‘‘This is hugely disappointing for players and fans who will be inconvenienced but safety comes first.
‘‘We take public and staff safety very seriously and have taken a proactive approach ever since issues were first discovered,’’ NPDC chief operating officer Kelvin Wright said.
Home games (Ranfurly Shield defences)
❚ Manawatu, August 24 ❚ Waikato, September 9 ❚ Auckland, September 22 ❚ North Harbour, September 29 ❚ Wellington, October 12