Soccer: Kingz' move ruffles North Harbour feathers

By TERRY MADDAFORD

The decision to ditch North Harbour Stadium in favour of Ericsson Stadium as the Football Kingz soccer club's home ground has North Shore Mayor George Wood and stadium general manager Graeme Running fuming.

Already they are vowing to spare nothing in an attempt to lure New Zealand's first professional soccer team back to North Harbour Stadium after the Kingz' one-year deal to relocate to Ericsson Stadium.

Kingz' chief executive Simon Massey and club general manager Chris Turner said yesterday that they had opted for Ericsson Stadium as their home for the 2000-2001 National Soccer League season "purely and simply on financial grounds."

There have been suggestions of playing doubleheaders with the Auckland Warriors rugby league team.

Although unlikely to be contemplated on a regular basis - and then only in the latter part of the season when there could be a clash of the two codes - Ericsson Stadium manager Malcolm Roberts said it would not be a major hurdle in switching from one football pitch to the other.

The major problem might be in convincing the North Harbour faithful and other soccer supporters that it is not all bad in going to what is regarded as New Zealand's rugby league headquarters.

Running was "absolutely gutted" on learning that he had lost the battle to retain the Kingz for a second season, while Wood said he was devastated.

"We worked hard for a year to get the Kingz up and running," he said.

"I understand there was a good cash incentive for them to go to Ericsson. With the money they had, I don't think it was a level playing field.

"There is a huge following for soccer on the Shore. I'm concerned that might be lost."

New Zealand Soccer has already thrown its support behind North Harbour Stadium, promising to play all major games for the next three years at the ground.

Fred de Jong, a former All White and a real folk hero in the Kingz' first season, said that if the crowds improved it would be justification for switching to Ericsson Stadium.

"If they think they can get more people there, then I would go along with the decision," de Jong said.

"But from a New Zealand Soccer point of view it would have been good to stay at North Harbour, given the atmosphere we built up there."

In ending weeks of speculation over the Kingz' home base, Massey said it had come down to finances.

He dismissed suggestions that the decision had been made before the two stadiums presented their bids at meetings on Tuesday.

"We had an open mind, but once we put the figures on a spreadsheet, it was no contest," Massey said. "Emotionally, we were with North Harbour. We hope we don't cop a backlash, but if we do we will take it on the chin."

While no party would talk dollars, it seems there was a difference of about $300,000 between the two bids.

"The challenge is to get people back to Mt Smart [Ericsson]," Turner said in a reference to the heady days of the early 1980s when the All Whites played their World Cup matches at the ground.

"We are aware of the enthusiasm built up by the supporters' club and will be meeting them on Friday to discuss the change and the reasons for it and to enlist their continued support."

A minimum of 12 of 15 home games will be played at Ericsson Stadium. Others might be played at either Napier, Wellington, Christchurch or Dunedin.

It is planned to play the Kingz' home games in Auckland at 7.30 pm on Fridays.

Their first home game will be on October 20 against Eastern Pride and the second a week later against Newcastle Breakers.

Their first away game is scheduled against Sydney Olympic.