Auckland City should resist confusing the issue by throwing in other options for venue
Just when I thought there were no surprises left in local government, up pops a resolution from Auckland City's city development committee on a national convention centre.
Having shared with the Ministry of Economic Development the cost of a $300,000 feasibility study which identified the central business district as the best site, the committee came up with a bizarre decision.
It ordered its officers to prepare a submission to Government that not only "promotes an Auckland CBD location for an international convention and exhibition centre" but also outlines "the pros and cons" of the Auckland Showgrounds as a site.
Chairman Aaron Bhatnagar says tossing in the showgrounds was to keep councillors Leila Boyle and Graeme Mulholland happy but that "the report and motion should make it absolutely clear that the CBD is the preferred venue". To me, if clarity is the aim, why muddy the waters with an option that didn't even make the shortlist?
In identifying five potential Auckland sites, the feasibility study concluded "proximity to a critical mass of appropriate standard hotel rooms is the single most important attribute for conference 'buyers' because of the convenience this provides conference organisers and delegates". That makes the showgrounds a non-starter.
Two of the five "finalist" sites, the Wynyard Quarter and the old railyard on Quay St, were marked down because of their "distance from most hotel accommodation and inferior transport links compared to midtown and waterfront locations".
The "east of Princes Wharf" waterfront site - shorthand for Mayor John Banks' favoured Bledisloe Wharf - does have seaside appeal, but this is more than offset by the added costs of building over water and "relative disadvantage in terms of proximity to most ... hotel accommodation".
A midtown convention centre would not only appeal to customers, it would also be cheapest, with capital costs of $329 million to build compared with $383 million for Wynyard Quarter and between $405 million and $550 million for a waterfront site.
This helped give the midcity site the highest benefit/cost ratio of 1.433, compared with waterfront sites of between 0.888 and 1.183, and Wynyard at 1.168.
As an Aucklander, I could add another big reason for favouring a midcity site.
We haven't fought hard over many years to liberate our waterfront for Aucklanders to then hand it over to the Government so it can close it off again with a large and intrusive box to serve the needs of foreign conference-goers.
There are two midcity sites: the existing Aotea Centre in the Edge, and a SkyCity site in Hobson St, next to TVNZ. I'm for expanding the Aotea Centre. By using its 2200-seat ASB Theatre and adjacent spaces as the centrepiece of the new national convention centre, there are advantages all round.
Edge chief executive Greg Innes has been lobbying for major expansion for years. In front of me is The Edge's convention centre sales brochure for 1998 with an illustration of the "proposed Aotea 2 convention extension ... to be purpose-built for completion in 2004."
Several reports and plans have followed. The latest, prepared in August 2007 by Athfield Architects, has a new building fronting Mayoral Drive, linking behind into the existing Aotea Centre, stretching from the city administration building to Wellesley St.
Mr Innes says for a similar cost to building from scratch elsewhere, an Aotea-based package could include the restoration of the nearby St James Theatre and the building of a new 600-seat theatre.
The ASB Theatre, which has been a problematic space, especially acoustically, for music and drama, could then concentrate on being the large plenary session meeting space for conventions, while opera, ballet and drama could move to the renewed 1200-seat St James. It's a win-win solution.
There's also the negative consideration for ratepayers, that if the Aotea Centre misses out and a bigger and better convention centre is built elsewhere in the CBD, the city-owned convention facilities will become an under-used millstone.
The Economic Development Ministry called this week for "expressions of interest" to identify a site for an international-standard national convention and exhibition centre.
Closing date for submissions is June 18. The search is nationwide, though given the joint ministry- Auckland City Council feasibility study chose midcity Auckland, the Aotea Centre should be the obvious answer when Auckland City files its submission.
To sit on the fence, as some reports suggest it will do, or promote a long-shot such as the showgrounds, just raises doubts and weakens city-owned Aotea's case.
