No world-class stadium in the city would be ridiculous

Christchurch is the second-biggest community in the country with expanding communities nearby.

The future population will grow to 600,000-700,000 or more over the next few years.

Since the earthquakes we have a magnificent library, world-class Convention Centre, and next year the metro sports facility will be world-class as well, and certainly the best in the country.

Not to have a world-class stadium alongside these other facilities would be absolutely ridiculous.

We must just get on with it and give serious thought to pro-rata contributions from the surrounding communities, along with season/membership tickets being offered to the community.

Just get on with it.

Roger Mathieson, Christchurch Central

Name it after Norm

The new stadium should be named after Norm Berryman, as he showed the Crusaders how to win. After that, everyone wanted to play for us.

Our work cafe TV broke down so I collected $2 off each of 32 staff and a lady from our office went to the TAB and put it on the Crusaders to beat a South African Super Rugby team (at 4 to 1 odds).

They won, and we got our new TV.

Unbeknown to me, she also put $10 of her own money on Normy to score the first try (12 to 1), which he did. So we not only got our TV but she came away with $120. Richard Jones, Mt Pleasant

Rugby clubs

If, as Eugenie Sage suggests, the Canterbury Rugby Union has inflated the pro-stadium vote by mobilising rugby clubs to vote (Message for council on stadium, July 7), then, given the stadium will be used predominantly for rugby, let the rugby clubs stump up with real money towards the cost of it.

Start this Saturday and every Saturday with a sausage sizzle, chocolate wheel and quickfire raffles! Top it off with the millions that should be coming to Canterbury Rugby Union from the national rugby union’s recent corporate windfall.

If the rugby union continues refusing to contribute, can the stadium.

Brian Turner, Shirley

Unrealistic

The $683 million megastadium proposal is unrealistic. With delay and cost overruns, this will become a billion-dollar financial burden on Christchurch citizens.

Then the cry will go up to sell our city’s valuable assets, such as the airport, to pay the huge debt.

The still-vacant Tuam St site is perfectly located for low-rise housing and green space in the heart of the new Christchurch. We need more people living in the central city.

It would be a mistake to occupy this priceless land with a massive stadium complex.

I suggest the new state-of-the-art Christchurch stadium be built at Addington or Lancaster Park.

A joint venture between Japanese rugby clubs and the Crusaders could be a foundation of cooperation in a Pacific-Asian tournament. Knowledge and skills can be combined in an Aotearoa and Japanese design team.

Let’s build a stadium, welldesigned, in the right place, for a reasonable cost.

Antony Brown, Opawa

Future implications

Bertrand Warren, in yesterday’s letters, says that the submitters on the stadium were a self-selected sample.

I agree. I do remember that many years ago we had questions added to our local body election, giving voters the choice of saying yes or no to a road through Hagley Park.

We have a local body election coming up. Surely the building of Te Kaha is a very important issue, one that will have huge future implications for ratepayers.

Pat Brooker, Christchurch Central

Not the message

The overwhelming message from the stadium consultation is certainly not ‘‘get on with it’’, despite the start of the story Message for council on stadium

(July 7).

There are more than half a million people in Canterbury. Most of them didn’t care enough either way to make a submission. There is definitely not ‘‘a very strong mandate to push on’’, Mr Mainsbridge.

H M Warren, Ilam