Stadium options considered
Tātaki Auckland Unlimited will commission an artist's impression of how a new sports precinct to replace North Harbour Stadium would look.
A proposal in Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan is to knock down at least part of the current stadium and build indoor and outdoor community facilities on the Albany site, which would incorporate a new stadium with a capacity of 8-10,000.
Tātaki Auckland Unlimited is an arm of the Auckland Council. Last week its deputy chair, Jennah Wootten, led a summit of key stakeholders to figure out what a new sports precinct would look like if this option is taken up.
The other option, listed as option one in the plan, is to continue the status quo with the loss-making and rarely-used stadium. Feedback is also being sought about the management of the stadium precinct and if it should be taken away from Tātaki Auckland Unlimited.
The venue made an operating loss of $2.6m last year and the forecast future capital spend over the next 10 years is $32.9m.
An option being explored is to use that money on new facilities, rather than spend it on the upkeep of North Harbour Stadium and Wootten said it was crucial to start conversations about what a new sporting precinct would look like.
“We’ve been keen to bring together stakeholders, to have a range of conversations around option two,” Wootten said.
“The Tātaki Auckland Unlimited board is not the decision-maker, so what we’re keen to do is make sure there is an understanding of what the community would like to see.
“We were trying to open up a conversation where all the key players were sitting in a room and asking what optimal would look like and what you’d like to see if that was the chosen option.”
Those who attended the summit included Adrian Donald from North Harbour Rugby, Tennis Northern’s Chris Casey, Laura Menzies from Northern Region Football, Kevin O’Leary (CEO of the North Harbour Business Association), Mike Stanley from AUT Millennium and Murray Lockwood from the North Harbour Club.
“Tātaki Auckland Unlimited has committed to work with an architect and quantity surveyor to bring to life some artist impressions and initial costings,” Wootten said.
“Once we have those, we’ll reconvene the group to have a look at them and discuss it further.
“Ideally, we’ll be in a position to provide this information to the councillors, the governing body. So when they’re making their decision in June, they’ll have all the feedback that’s come through the consultation process, the information which has come through a group of stakeholders and they’ll be able to make the most informed decision they can.’’