Why the Victoria Park cricket idea is a no-brainer for city
Any Kiwi who has had the pleasure of travelling to Melbourne for a significant event will understand what Auckland is missing out on in not having a downtown sporting precinct.
That is why a secret squirrel project to turn Victoria Park into a test cricket, one-day and Twenty20 venue is an exciting development and a no-brainer.
Leading sportswriter Dylan Cleaver revealed the plan — and accompanying renders — with readers of his The Bounce newsletter on Thursday night.
The mooted project is linked to the Wynyard Pt downtown stadium bid at the Tank Farm with the same stadium international designers, Populous, providing the concept plan.
It’s difficult not to get excited about the prospect. US-based Populous are the world’s premier stadium designers, having among others created Las Vegas’ iconic Sphere and also the world-class Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
That same excitement is rippling through cricket, with the likes of former New Zealand Cricket chairman Greg Barclay, now performing the same role for the International Cricket Council, and other key identities making positive noises.
The recent (and blindingly correct) Australian criticism of Eden Park as an international cricket venue highlighted the problem of what to do with hosting elite cricket in New Zealand’s biggest city.
While the Auckland Cricket Association’s plans to move to the Merton Rd complex in Glen Innes makes sense, the suggestion it could also host internationals is a nonsense.
Comparisons with Christchurch’s Hagley Park and Mt Maunganui’s Bay Oval are a stretch at best.
But Victoria Park? Now we’re talking. Especially with Western Springs out of the picture now.
There’s a bunch of reasons why this makes sense.
1 So long Eden Park
This is a perfect solution if — as it should be — the white elephant of Eden Park is finally culled. The main downtown stadium needs to be built around a rectangular field that can’t accommodate a cricket oval.
But NZC can ill-afford to have an underwhelming presence in the biggest populated metropolis in the country.
In fact, it deserves it. There are 170,000 registered cricketers in New Zealand, which is more than rugby.
Auckland Cricket could still forge on with provincial cricket at Colin Maiden Park in Glen Innes but NZC would have a great venue for internationals.
2 Detour from Merton Rd
The principal behind the Tank Farm bid, former New Zealand Rugby board member Richard Dellabarca came up with the Victoria Park concept to not only bolster the Wynyard Pt campaign but also because there has been overwhelming negativity towards international cricket shifting to Merton Rd.
Out of sight, out of mind.
And do we really want 800 million Indian TV viewers watching an international in a suburban park in a downtrodden suburb?
Surely we can do better than that.
3 A multi-purpose venue
Under the proposal, Victoria Park would remain open to the public and retain its current “greenbelt” charm. Populous is suggesting the main grandstand would be built at the western end of the park, blocking off the ugly motorway that looms over it now, and sitting on land largely unused.
The park could remain multi-use right down to local sport, cultural and musical events and even possibly other oval-focused sports.
4 We own it
The Auckland council owns Victoria Park (and the Tank Farm), removing many of the political obstacles.
That should ensure a cheaper build cost and efficiencies that make Victoria Park a sustainable option.
But back to my main point about Melbourne’s inner-city sporting precinct which allows fans to view everything from an F1 Grand Prix to international cricket, AFL, NRL, A-League and the Australian Open tennis all within walking distance from each other.
Victoria Park is only half a kilometre from the Tank Farm.
My understanding is the Tank Farm backers are yet to present the Victoria Park concept to the council’s working group tasked with sorting out Auckland’s stadia mess.
But Cleaver revealed the proposal has been shared privately with several cricketing stakeholders, who are all excited about the idea.
The ability to move around Victoria Park, the Viaduct and a new national stadium for various events that showcase the inner city and harbour is the closest we can get to a mini-Melbourne sporting precinct.
It’s intriguing that New Zealand Cricket chose not to respond to Cleaver’s request for comment on the issue but I suspect that has more to do with sporting politics than not liking the plan.
The major associations around the country believe they effectively own and run the national body and NZC can’t afford to be seen to be cutting the Auckland Cricket Association’s Merton Rd plans.
And if anything is going to derail this, it will be politics.
Auckland deserves better — as does cricket in this country.