Rudman's city: All-purpose venues good for nothing

By BRIAN RUDMAN

In days past, communities used to compete to erect the biggest and grandest war memorial. These days we war over stadiums and arenas.

Predictably enough, Manukau City's latest plan for a $37.6 million indoor-outdoor sports and cultural complex has sparked a round of fear and loathing from the rest of the region.

It's not that people necessarily begrudge Manukau its dream of a new multipurpose stadium, it's just that any new facility poses a commercial threat to existing - or planned - ones elsewhere.

What concentrates the heat in this case is that the South Auckland proposal is a multipurpose bitser that has the potential to drag away business not just from other outdoor stadiums, but from convention centres and indoor music venues as well.

The history of multipurpose anythings is so studded with failure, both here and abroad, that you must wonder why local bodies continue to waste public money on them. I guess it's a case of better a mediocre hybrid concert hall/opera house/convention centre/rugby field that you can afford than nothing.

Before Manukau becomes a real threat to other venues, of course, its promoters have to come up with the little matter of $37.6 million.

So far the only funding on offer seems to be $11 million or more from Manukau City, made up of $1 million in startup funds plus a large parcel of council land. Some of this land will be used for the sports complex, the rest, conservatively valued at $10 million, will be offered for sale, the proceeds going to the complex.

Whether any more money is forthcoming we will just have to wait and see.

Reaction to the Manukau project has drawn attention to the widespread confusion about the difference between a stadium and an arena.

Some of the misunderstanding has undoubtedly been fuelled by the emergence of hybrids such as Manukau's. However, Manukau also has to shoulder some of the responsibility by calling its project Pacific Arena.

This suggests it is setting up in competition with the proposed $100 million Quay Park arena, planned for downtown Auckland next to the old central railway station.

This address was chosen as the site for the region's sole publicly backed indoor entertainment arena back in June 1998, after a tense battle with Manukau City and the Auckland Regional Council's Ericsson Stadium.

The warring parties eventually called in the Hillary Commission as referee, agreeing to accept its verdict as binding. The commission ruled that Manukau City was "too far south of Greater Auckland" and that Ericsson Stadium had limited public transport and lacked associated hotel and alternative entertainment facilities.

An arena is the Rolls-Royce of entertainment venues, and the price reflects this status.

The Auckland City-promoted Quay Park arena will cost between $75 million and $100 million and seat between 10,000 and 15,000 people. It will be roofed, airconditioned and acoustically designed to cater for sport and big concerts.

In comparison, Ericsson Stadium's Big Top and the Logan Campbell Centre will be revealed as the "tin sheds" that they are.

To get Quay Park constructed, Auckland City is endeavouring to raise $50 million from the public sector - both from local government and perhaps national. It will be left to the developer to find whatever is needed over and above that. In return the developer will get 30-year management rights over the building.

Quay Park arena is a welcome return to the world of purpose-built venues. Like opera houses and concert halls of old, it is being planned with specific functions and audiences in mind.

Manukau's project, on the other hand, risks becoming yet another flawed multipurpose venue that ends up satisfying few of its potential audiences.

Mayor Sir Barry Curtis rhapsodises about how good it will be for everything from basketball to kilikiti to ballet and symphony orchestras. If it is, it will be a miracle.