Auckland stadiums: First look at Wynyard Point proposal ahead of formal vote

The final horse in the Auckland stadium race has been revealed visually.

A stadium and entertainment precinct at Wynyard Point, encompassing a main 55,000-seat stadium, an indoor arena and an outdoor amphitheatre to view harbour events like SailGP, is the fourth proposal that will be voted on next month.

It joins Eden Park 2.1, a redevelopment option of the current national stadium; a waterfront stadium precinct at Quay Park or Te Tōangaroa, backed by New Zealand Rugby (NZR) and including an All Blacks-branded hotel; and a fully enclosed stadium sunk into the Waitematā Harbour with a floating roof above sea level.

Wynyard Point consortium head Richard Dellabarca told Newstalk ZB’s Elliott Smith that the current set-up of four stadiums (Eden Park, Go Media Stadium Mt Smart, North Harbour Stadium and Western Springs) was unsustainable.

Of the three bids thought to be in the running, Wynyard Point has kept the lowest profile and has not looked to work any back channels to influence the voting members.

The Herald understands that the bid’s principal, financier and former NZR board director, Richard Dellabarca, deliberately steered clear of seeking high-profile endorsement, wary that it would create a perceived conflict of interest.

It is also understood that NZR made no contact with Dellabarca or anyone in the Wynyard Point team prior to committing to supporting Quay Park.

Dellabarca’s only attempts to sway the narrative were in a Linkedin response to a post by Peter Nunns, the director of economics at New Zealand Infrastructure Commission, an interview with the Herald in early January and a ZB interview on May 21.

In the Herald interview, he made the point that Melbourne had 10 Australian Rules teams, yet used just two stadiums to host their fixtures.

An aerial view of how the Wynard Point proposal would look on Auckland's waterfront. Image / Populous

“From a fiscal perspective, it makes no sense to continue with the four stadiums. I think the other thing is, from a customer experience perspective, if you go overseas, look at Suncorp [in Brisbane] last night: 52,000 fans, rectangular stadium, what an amazing atmosphere. We just don’t have that.”

He believes the Wynyard Point proposal is clearly the best available and the most cost-effective.

Wynyard Point would be a multi-use entertainment precinct. Image / Populous

“It’s one of the best sites in the world. We’ve got the best stadium designers in the world. The reason they’ve joined us is because they think this is an amazing site, one of the best they’ve seen in the world, and they have the ability to create something really iconic for New Zealand.

“It’s the lowest-cost site to build on. It doesn’t have the complexity of Quay Park and it doesn’t sit in the middle of a densely populated suburb, Mt Eden [where Eden Park sits]. So you’ve got the double whammy of an iconic site and actually at the lowest-cost site to build.”