Project blueprint failed to deliver
The Government under-estimated the cost of building Christchurch’s new central city sports centre and the extent of the ‘‘liquefiable’’ ground at its chosen site, official documents have revealed.
The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (Cera) considered other locations for the Metro Sports Facility but decided changing the site would create further delays and a ‘‘significant risk’’ of legal action from people it had already bought land from.
The facility – to be built on the block bordered by St Asaph St, Moorhouse Ave and Antigua St – was among the Government’s priority projects and was initially expected to be finished by the first quarter of next year.
Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee announced in August that additional funding for the facility had been approved to ensure it met the sporting needs of the region, but he would not say how much extra would be provided.
Netball Mainland chief executive Brigit Hearn said delays could have been avoided if consultation with the sports sector was taken into account before the Government unveiled its central city blueprint.
‘‘There was no way the [first proposed facility] was going to work and I’m not sure how they dreamt that up,’’ she said.
‘‘When they finally started doing some consultation, they realised that what was in the blueprint was nothing like what was needed.’’
It was understood the Crown’s funding cap had to increase by about $83 million, bringing the project’s total cost to $300m, up from $217m.
Under the Official Information Act, Cera released a Cabinet paper and the business case for the project, which showed the Cabinet was asked to agree to a bigger facility and increased funding. The documents were heavily redacted and all dollar figures were removed.
Under the Cost Sharing Agreement signed by the Crown and the Christchurch City Council in 2013, the Government’s contribution to the facility was $70.3m, which included the cost of buying the land needed.
The council’s contribution of $147m remained unchanged.
The documents said the cost of buying the land was greater than expected, while ‘‘stakeholders’ aspirations’’ of what the centre would include exceeded the original funding.
The new funding would allow for more indoor sports courts, a childcare facility and competitive diving facilities.
It would also see High Performance Sports training base move from its temporary facility at Jellie Park.
The documents said the design and construction costs were estimated before ‘‘any geotechnical investigations’’ were undertaken to determine the condition of the site and subsequent cost of remediation or structural requirements of building on the land.
Geotechnical testing confirmed the ground conditions were ‘‘worse than expected [with] liquefiable soils with poor bearing capacity’’.
The engineering solution required was more expensive than expected and there had been additional costs involved with removing asbestos-contaminated soil from demolished buildings on the site, the documents said.
Alternative sites had been considered, including potential colocation with the proposed stadium to the east of the city centre.
Finding another location would require new land designation, public consultation and would create a ‘‘significant risk’’ of legal action from people whose land Cera had already acquired.
Hearn said she commended the Government for ‘‘going back and taking into consideration what the sports are saying’’.
‘‘We never had the expectation of having a great diamondencrusted facility . . . just some- thing that worked well and future-proofed the city.’’
The Cabinet paper said Sport New Zealand was ‘‘strongly against’’ the cheaper, smaller option being considered because it would ‘‘not meet the community sport and recreation and high performance demands’’ of the region now and in the future.
The Metro Sports Facility is now not expected to open until 2020 and Brownlee has instructed staff to ensure that Registration of Interest documents are released by November.