Doubts have been raised about the viability of a new waterfront stadium that would take over the vehicle import processing area at Ports of Auckland.
Stadium expert Warren Stott, who has consulted on the naming rights for major facilities around Auckland, says a proposal put forward by The Auckland Waterfront Consortium offering a stadium that wouldn’t cost ratepayers or taxpayers won’t come to anything.
“Barriers to entry for their project go far beyond objections they have alluded to,” Stott says.
“The entire project depends on their acquisition as a “gift” of the property of Eden Park. Such would require an act of Parliament to alter the Eden Park Trust Act 1955/09.”
The consortium has proposed redeveloping Eden Park and the area around the proposed stadium as a way of funding the project without asking for public money.
Stott says previous suggestions of building a stadium on the waterfront were also never going to work.
“The notion that the $1 billion waterfront stadium once proposed by the Labour government, was in anyway viable was a myth.
“Queens Wharf would have required an additional investment of $197 million plus, for strengthening of piles of wharves where the stadium was to be built.”
Stott says promoters often would rather run concerts at venues like Spark Arena over several nights, rather than at a stadium.
Consortium chairman Geoff Wigmore says it is time to turn “an eyesore into something magnificent”.
“We need to begin the process of reducing the footprint of port operations at the waterfront, without damaging the viability of Ports of Auckland.”
