The panel, set up in September by Mayor Wayne Brown, is tasked with finding the best long-term option for a mainstadium in the city and then making a non-binding recommendation to the wider council.
Eight interested parties submitted expressions of interest earlier this year but that field has since narrowed. The final quartet of proposals on the table, each the subject of 75-minute presentations on Monday, are:
Eden Park 2.0. This option sees a redevelopment of the historic venue, pushing the capacity to 60,000. There are plans for a retractable roof, a new north stand, upgrades to two other grandstands and a pedestrian accessway crossing Sandringham Rd.
The Tank Farm. Based at Wynyard Point, this is the newest proposal, believed to be based on a 50,000-60,000 capacity, transforming the former industrial wasteland into a downtown arena.
Quay Park. This bid, which first surfaced in 2021, is a 50,000-capacity stadium that can be scaled down to 20,000 for smaller events. The stadium is envisioned to be part of a new sports and entertainment precinct at the eastern end of the waterfront, in the vicinity of Spark Arena.
Eden Park during a 2023 NPC match. Photo / Photosport
The presentations were made to the working group chaired by councillor Shane Henderson. The other councillors are Julie Fairey, Wayne Walker, Daniel Newman and Chris Darby. The panel also includes Sport New Zealand chief executive Raelene Castle, Tataki Auckland Unlimited boss Nick Hill, Tau Henare (independent Māori Statutory representative) and key mayoral adviser Simon Johnston.
“It went really well,” Henderson told the Herald. “We had some really different ideas and outside-the-box thinking and a real dedication to Aotearoa and what makes us unique and special. That’s pretty cool and that’s what you need in any kind of large civic space like that.”
Henderson declined to go into detail on the bids, saying, “That’s all highly confidential at this stage.”
The next step will see an independent assessment of the four pitches by a consulting company – believed to not be one of the “big four” – who will report back to the working group with their findings.
“It’s about kicking the tyres and getting a second opinion,” said Henderson. “We have some really good expertise on that working group and we also have councillors that are experts in the public opinion and the public mood but not necessarily on the day-to-day running of a stadium.
“This is obviously a huge investment, both in terms of finances and the future of the city for decades to come. We want to do this quickly, to provide certainty for Aucklanders, but it has to be balanced with some real strong expertise.”
Henderson said there were “quite different” financial models.
It’s believed that two of the downtown options were priced at just over $1 billion, with a third considerably more. Eden Park’s cost for its ambitious renovation was about $850 million. Mayor Brown has already instructed that minimal ratepayer funds will be available and the central Government has yet to commit.
“It’s a huge investment in terms of capital but it also has to wash its face from our operational perspective,” said Henderson. “So it’s not just stadium construction. The three waterfront options have all pitched proposals that include high levels of private funding.”
It’s understood that both the mayor and the Government have made it clear in private discussions that the final solution can’t be a “white elephant”.
An artist's impression of the proposed "sunken stadium".
One industry expert told the Herald that the proposed main stadium, wherever it is ultimately placed, will need to have a minimum of 30 major events annually to break even and more than 40 to turn a profit.
That will mean that sporting content with anchor tenants such as the Warriors, Blues and the new Auckland A-League football team will be crucial given the fickle and complicated nature of entertainment events, especially large-scale concerts.
The working group is scheduled to meet once more in January before forwarding its recommendations to the council. The governing body could vote on the preferred stadium option as early as January 30, though Henderson conceded it could also slip to second scheduled council meeting in late February.
“It will be on the agenda,” said Henderson. “At that stage, we will be able to be a bit more open about identities of bidders.
“Auckland has shown we can do major events really well and this is the next step for us potentially. That is subject to councillors passing it through but it is an exciting next step.”
Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns. A football aficionado, Burgess will never forget the noise that greeted Rory Fallon’s goal against Bahrain in Wellington in 2009.
