Stadium Southland's roof wrongly installed - report

Stadium Southland's roof collapsed in heavy snow. Photo / NZPA

Stadium Southland, which collapsed under heavy snow in September, was showing cracks in its walls and pillars two years after it was built, Invercargill City Council documents from the early 2000s show.

The roof of the $10 million stadium caved in under the weight of "very wet" snow on September 18, sending users fleeing for their lives. No one was injured.

Documents obtained from the council by the Southland Times showed the stadium's columns developed cracks because the roof was installed incorrectly.

"[This] caused the columns to start cracking in the concrete at the top of the columns," principal council building code officer, Simon Tonkin said in a 2003 report.

In a letter to the council on January 4, 2000, the original engineer in charge of the project, Tony Major, said cost restraints were behind the "under-design" of some elements of the stadium, including the concrete foundations and the trusses.

Work to fix structural problems, including sagging roof trusses and severe cracking in the pillars, was not signed off until late 2003.

Mr Tonkin said yesterday remedial work to fix the stadium's problems eventually reached the satisfaction of the engineers who declared it met the building code.

Two investigations are ongoing into the cause of the collapse.

- NZPA