KEY POINTS:
Downtown Auckland will look very different for the 2011 rugby World Cup, but will it scrub up to playing host on the global stage?
One thing is certain. There will be no "Stadium New Zealand" on the waterfront. And the red wharf fence will still be barring public access to more of the downtown waterfront.
Between 45,000 and 70,000 rugby fans are forecast to descend on Auckland for the largest sporting event held in New Zealand - far bigger than the 20,000 fans for the 2005 Lions rugby tour and a big boost to the 170,000 central city residents, students and workers on weekdays.
Heart of the City chief executive Alex Swney said the tournament was clearly going to take over the city.
"It's just a question of how ready we are to party."
Some projects will definitely be ready. The $43.5 million upgrade of Queen St will be well and truly bedded in. Upgrades will be finished on Albert and Victoria Sts, as will a $7.8 million upgrade of St Patrick's Square.
Wider footpaths in Queen St will attract outdoor cafes and plans are well advanced for a string of high-end stores near the bottom of the Golden Mile.
The existing Louis Vuitton store is due to shift into the old Deka store across the road and be joined by Chanel. Tiffany, Prada and Hugo Boss are other names being bandied about.
Just around the corner, the historic Britomart precinct will be pretty much complete with a mix of character retail and apartment buildings, combined with new office buildings for Westpac bank and other service firms.
The developer, Bluewater, is also looking at developing a 150-room five-star hotel facing the waterfront on Quay St. This comes just after Nigel McKenna's Melview Developments finished the 173-room $90 million Westin Hotel in the Lighter Quay area of the Viaduct.
Bluewater sales and leasing director Jeremy Priddy said the Lions rugby tour proved Britomart, with a rail link to Eden Park, buses and ferries, was an attractive base for touring fans and was keen for it to be used as a live site in 2011.
Rugby New Zealand 2011 plans to set up a number of live sites with giant television screens throughout the country. It will be based on the Woolshed used at the America's Cup in Valencia, and the Fan Fests in Germany at last year's soccer World Cup.
Auckland City events group manager Rachael Dacy, a recent recruit who headed Melbourne city's planning for the 2006 Commonwealth Games, said there would be a number of live sites around Auckland.
Possible locations included Britomart, Aotea Square and a new marine events centre at Viaduct Harbour.
Question marks, however, hang over a number of other projects that may or may not be ready by 2011.
Prime among these are plans to open up the Tank Farm on the western side of the city with bars, restaurants and seafood outlets along Jellicoe St. The Tank Farm will be linked to the city by a $35 million opening bridge across the Viaduct Harbour.
The project director for the Tank Farm, John Dalzell, said he was happy with progress and confident cup fans would be able to enjoy a meal and a drink overlooking the wharf and fishing boats on the north side of Jellicoe St.
The "Sea+City Project" to redevelop the Tank Farm over 25 years marked a milestone yesterday by the calling of tenders for the first contract to upgrade the wharf north of Jellicoe St.
Other doubtful projects for 2011 are the $96 million upgrade of Aotea Square and fixing the leaky Aotea carpark roof, the $93 million Art Gallery upgrade, the marine events centre and the long-running saga for an international-size convention centre costing $300 million or more.
New Auckland City Mayor John Banks and his Citizens & Ratepayers council have promised to review all council projects to find savings, and there is no guarantee any of these projects will proceed.
Mr Swney said a convention centre would provide huge economic benefits to Auckland if it could be built in time for 2011, but acknowledged it would require a lot of ratepayer and taxpayer funding.
At this stage, there is no political appetite for a convention centre, which could be built alongside the Aotea Centre as part of upgrading the square.
Mr Swney said preparations for the cup boiled down to will and money.
"How much does the taxpayer, Auckland ratepayers and regional ratepayers want to make of this opportunity being a high-quality international tournament?"
Rachael Dacy said events planning in Auckland was conceptual at this stage. But she said Auckland would be different from Paris, a city where she had to search to find the rugby cup feel.
"[Fans] will arrive in Auckland and won't be able to miss what will be a fantastic atmosphere."
There would be a lot of colour and life in the city with banners and themeing. Planning was underway for some kind of entertainment around the opening and closing ceremonies involving fans and locals not fortunate enough to have tickets to Eden Park.
She said Melbourne City and the Victoria state government spent $7 million on an opening extravaganza for the 2006 Commonwealth Games that involved floats cruising down a lit-up Yarra River and fireworks off city buildings.
"We would need to assess what would it take and what would the actual benefits be for us in staging something of that level."
