Christchurch earthquake: Govt offers $4.1m to ease city's World Cup loss

Photo / Sarah Ivey

The Government has pulled out its chequebook to try to soften the blow for earthquake-ravaged Christchurch as it loses its lucrative hosting rights in this year's Rugby World Cup.

While the decision to relocate the two quarter-finals and five pool matches from the city's damaged AMI Stadium was perhaps the country's worst-kept secret, it has still come as a blow for a rugby-mad city looking for a positive on the horizon after the deadly quake.

Rugby World Cup Minister Murray McCully said those parties involved in reaching the decision found it a very difficult one, but in the end there was no dissent.

"At the end of the day, we were confronted with a range of risks and uncertainties that were unacceptable in relation to the largest sporting event ever hosted in the country - one that calls for certainty and for the elimination of risk."

Mr McCully pledged $4.1 million from the Government to make up a financial shortfall in fixing the stadium's wrecked playing field, and said discussions had started to develop a "special travel package" for the thousands of ticketholders who will have to make new travel plans if they do not opt for a refund.

Christchurch's two quarter-finals are going to Auckland, while at least three of the city's five pool matches look set to go to other South Island venues.

International Rugby Board (IRB) chairman Bernard Lapasset said he understood the announcement would bring disappointment at a very difficult time.

"To the people of Christchurch our pledge to you is this: You are in our hearts and minds. And you will be central to Rugby World Cup 2011."

Mr McCully said while the damaged structure of AMI stadium could be fixed, the work would have to be done in a manner that placed insurance cover at risk.

A complete replacement of the damaged playing field was theoretically possible in time for the tournament, but there was a risk of finding further underlying damage.

"And if those challenges weren't sufficient, the survey of accommodation available has told us that even making some positive assumptions about repairs, the number of beds available in September would not be sufficient to meet the needs of visitors."

Vbase, which manages AMI Stadium, is anticipating a "large volume" of repair work at the venue. Chief executive Bryan Pearson said the ground had to be stabilised under stands which had sunk slightly, but the rebuilding of the playing surface was the biggest issue. Pulling up the existing turf and clearing drains full of silt could also uncover other problems.

"We are extremely disappointed, but we completely understand the decision."

Mr McCully criticised people from "noisy quarters" who had made "frenzied calls" for decisions to be made without facts on the table.

"I make no apology at all for taking a little time to give proper consideration to those matters. The engineering assessment was only received by Vbase on Monday."

With real concern about Christchurch still being without its stadium in 2012, the Government was committed to the $4.1 million grant to repair turf damage not covered by insurance.

Labour leader Phil Goff said the Prime Minister had had information for some time, but withheld it and effectively built up false hope.

"The Prime Minister has handled this issue poorly. He's ended up giving false expectations that have now been dashed."

But Mr Key rejected this, saying while the IRB had an idea of the situation before yesterday's announcement, the final decision was not made until yesterday.

"No one wants to hold the Cup in Christchurch more than I do, but the reality is that we just can't put at risk the Rugby World Cup, and we actually can't risk a bad experience for those coming from overseas."

THE COSTS
* $4.1m from the Government to repair turf damage
* 36,000 tickets had already been sold for the quarter-final matches
* 35,000 international tourists expected for the games
* $10m extra revenue created if moved to Auckland

- Additional reporting Derek Cheng