We don’t need stadium — we need St James

mistake, is the admission that “to date these benefits have not been examined and quantified.”

Intriguingly, uncensored is the claim that building a stadium would result in the “creating [of] new residential housing capacity including affordable housing [which] would bring substantial benefit to Auckland”.

We’re left to envisage long lines of camp stretchers across the pitch for the long stretches of the year when the place is empty. That’s the affordable housing. Then up in the top tier, which PWC says will only be opened up for crowds of 30,000-50,000, the wealthier homeless can lounge back in airline sleeper seats.

For all their enthusiasm, in the end, the report writers have to purse their lips and admit to two “immutable laws in relation to the economics of such developments”.

First “they require considerable capital investment and conversely they are highly unlikely to be able to generate returns that cover the cost of securing the capital”.

Second stadiums do not usually generate enough revenue to cover operational costs let alone paying a return to private sector backers.

However, such warnings don’t seem to deter politicians dreaming of their big boys toys — and what could be bigger than a stadium.

On Friday, even the usually levelheaded planning committee chairman Chris Darby was at it, upset that Auckland was falling behind, of all places, Dunedin when it came to a covered stadium. Could it be because we’re smarter? Until now anyway.

Two years ago, when former Warriors Rugby League owner, Eric Watson tried to get Auckland to build a waterfront stadium for his league team, I put on my consultant’s cap, and discovered that in the 2015 season, the Warriors home crowds had averaged 14,375. In 2017, home crowds had dropped to an average of 11,754.

In the 2015 season, the Auckland Blues rugby union team, did even worse, with average home audiences at Eden Park of around 10,000. To my surprise, last year the Blues crowd picked up, peaking once, at 20,800.

Way behind were the provincial rugby games starring Auckland at Eden Park. In 2015 they averaged 4000 spectators, in 2017, around 5000.

Yet the PWC report writers say the proposed National Stadium “will only be used for events when crowds of 15,000 or more are expected”.

Despite this obvious lack of need, there seems to be pressure building to send the consultants back out to follow up with a feasibility study. Then, who knows? A decision to secure a CBD site for something future Aucklanders may or may not want in 10, 20 or 30 years time?

Alternatively, we could suggest Regional Facilities Auckland and the politicians turn their attention to an immediate problem, rescuing the stalled restoration of the historic St James Theatre.