$30.7m plan for Whangarei park

Consultants are recommending construction of a $30.7 million regional events centre and stadium with seating for 20,000 at Whangarei's Okara Park.

The new venue would be used for rugby, league, and soccer games up to international level and for community and business events.

The proposal also calls for a 25m lap pool, a gymnasium, lecture theatre, sports medicine centre, corporate dining facilities for 500, six corporate suites and 15 open-air corporate boxes.

The centre, to be built on the existing ITM Stadium site, could also be used for concerts, cultural events, shows, and exhibitions.

Australian-based consultants Stratcorp suggest the Northland Regional Council should pay about three-quarters of the cost, through a targeted rate over the next 10 years.

A steering committee of representatives from the regional council, Sport Northland, and the Whangarei, Kaipara, and Far North district councils is overseeing the proposal.

Regional council chairman Mark Farnsworth said the council was "firmly neutral' on the idea.

Councillors would be guided by the response to market research being undertaken this month. A survey of 1000 Northlanders will gauge public support for the centre.

The consultants suggest a targeted rate of an extra $24 a year for regional council ratepayers with properties more than 50km from the stadium, and $48 for those within 50km.

Commercial property owners in the Whangarei district would pay an extra $96 a year.

Other suggested funding sources include the ASB Trust and the sale of rights to seats in the centre.