North Harbour Stadium would continue to be used by North Harbour Rugby and New Zealand Soccer.
League fans - including patriarch Sir Peter Leitch - have slammed the proposed move, saying a move to the 50,000-seat stadium would create a horrible atmosphere.
Auckland councillors were divided yesterday over whether the public should have a say.
Leading the pro-consultation team was Cathy Casey, who said the public had yet to speak on the future of the city's stadiums.
Mike Lee said he had sympathy for the difficult task being tackled by the council-controlled Regional Facilities Auckland but had grave misgivings about the direction it was taking.
"Bringing the public in can only help," he said.
But other councillors, including Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse, who chaired the meeting in the absence of Mayor Len Brown, Ann Hartley, George Wood and Dick Quax strongly opposed public consultation.
Ms Hulse and Ms Hartley said it was the job of Regional Facilities, not the council, to consult on the plan, and they were unsure what the council would be consulting on.
Regional Facilities has been working on the project for nearly two years and consulted a wide range of sporting bodies and other interested stakeholders.
The overall plan is expected to reduce council funding requirements, create opportunities for Eden Park to reduce debts of $55 million and strengthen the overall financial position of the region's stadiums.
After the meeting, Regional Facilities chief executive Robert Domm said the council needed to agree a strategy before the end of the year.
"We put it up to them [council]," he said. "They didn't make the call today, but eventually they have got to make the call. We hope they make it sooner rather than later."
Eden Park Neighbours' Association president Mark Donnelly, who addressed the council yesterday, said it was commonsense to consult Aucklanders.
How they voted
For public consultation
Cameron Brewer, Cathy Casey, Sandra Coney, Alf Filipaina, Christine Fletcher, Mike Lee, Richard Northey, Calum Penrose, Sharon Stewart, John Walker, Wayne Walker
Against
Penny Hulse (deputy mayor), Michael Goudie, Ann Hartley, Des Morrison, Dick Quax, Noelene Raffills, George Wood
Absent: Mayor Len Brown, Arthur Anae, Penny Webster
Staunchies will boycott, says fan
Bud Abbott reckons his mates would rip up their season tickets to the Warriors if the club shifted to Eden Park.
The 58-year-old from Manurewa has been a season-ticket holder since 1995 at Mt Smart and has had the team logo worked into a leg tattoo.
"A lot of staunchies won't go, I know quite a few who ... are saying, 'We won't go to Eden Park.' The parking's rubbish, the food's not that great. It's a rah-rah stadium."
He says Mt Smart has Eden Park beaten for atmosphere.
There's no way Warriors fans should bail out debt-ridden Eden Park, another season-ticket holder, Mike Brown, reckons.
"If the boot was on the other foot there's no way rugby would be bailing out league. The Warriors have got enough problems of their own without worrying about union, the country already falls over backwards for union."
- Yvonne Tahana
