Railway land tipped as top stadium pick

Railway land alongside the Spark Arena is believed to be the frontrunner to house a national stadium in central Auckland, but Victoria Park and Wynyard Quarter are also understood to be in the mix.

The six possible sites for a centralcity stadium costing between $1.1 billion and $1.5b have been redacted from pre-feasibility report by PwC for reasons of commercial sensitivity.

But the Herald understands the railway land, which Auckland mayor Phil Goff has previously expressed a preference for, best meets the need for sufficient development and operating space for a stadium.

The railway land, owned by local iwi Nga¯ti Wha¯tua, is on a tight footprint, but is ideally located close to the city’s main rail, bus and ferry services, the motorway network, and bars and restaurants.

Other sites put forward by PwC are thought to be Victoria Park and Wynyard Quarter on the waterfront. Retaining Eden Park could be on the list of six sites and the other two sites remain under wraps.

A spokesman for the mayor said he would not comment on any of the possible sites in the report.

It has also emerged that architects Warren and Mahoney have drawn up some high-level concepts of what a stadium and precinct could look like.

This was confirmed by the director of venue development strategy at Auckland Regional Facilities, Paul Nisbet, who said the concepts were contained in the redacted part of the PwC report, which cost $932,000.

Part of the report that has been made public sets out a rectangular stadium with a retractable roof for rugby, league and football that can be configured for 25,000 spectators at Super Rugby and NRL matches with a curtain on the upper tier to create an atmosphere. The report shows how such curtains work at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver.

The stadium could seat 50,000 to 55,000 spectators for All Black tests and other big matches. It would be Auckland’s main venue for big concerts, capable of holding 65,000 fans.

The Ombudsman is looking into two complaints against Goff over his refusal to give councillors a full copy of the PwC stadium report. They can only view it at his mayoral office.

Cathy Casey said the Ombudsman’s office had acknowledged a complaint she made yesterday about the mayor’s behaviour. Efeso Collins has made a similar complaint.

The Ombudsman can recommend solutions or remedies, which public agencies have a duty to comply with.

Several councillors are livid about Goff’s behaviour.

A mayoral spokesman said it was the first time under Goff’s leadership that a commercially sensitive report had not been given out in full.

He said several councillors had seen the full report in Goff’s office and were happy with the arrangement.

In a letter to the Ombudsman, Casey said after being told she could see the full report only in the mayor’s office she felt “completely undermined and untrusted as an elected ward councillor”.

Councillor John Watson said: “It’s pretty insulting behaviour.”