Flower show’s future hangs in the balance
The Christchurch City Council has again deferred a decision on the fate of the Ellerslie Flower Show and will negotiate with show management behind closed doors.
The council decided yesterday that Deputy Mayor Vicki Buck and councillors Ali Jones, Tim Scandrett and Yani Johanson would form a sub-committee to decide the show’s fate.
Show director Dave Mee will be included in contractual negotiations, but there is no indication of when a decision would be made public.
Show management have said the longer the decision took, the more time was lost to organise the next show, putting further strain on securing lucrative sponsorship.
It is more than three months since this year’s show ended.
Anderson Lloyd partner and corporate law expert David Goodman joined councillors behind closed doors yesterday to assist with discussions about the terms of the Ellerslie contract.
The Ellerslie Flower Show has cost ratepayers about $900,000 since 2010, on top of an initial purchase price of $3 million. This year’s show ended with a $516,000 loss, but polled well with show visitors.
A $170,000 cut to sponsorship had contributed to the loss.
Show management have said the event could be saved if the council invested in its operation upfront, rather than footing the bill after the fact.
Mee said last week that he supported the council choosing to hold Ellerslie biennially with another city, or increasing its funding and backing the show continuing as is.
Former mayor Sir Bob Parker has said abandoning the show would be a mistake.