KEY POINTS:
The long-awaited redevelopment of Auckland's tennis centre is still on track for construction to begin next January - for now.
But Auckland Tennis' plan for a multi-million-dollar redevelopment of the ageing ASB Tennis Centre - mooted eight years ago - could yet be put back another year if the project becomes bogged down in the parliamentary process.
Auckland Tennis and British racquets and health club operator Next Generation, which is contributing $25 million for the rebuild, will meet before the end of March to decide whether to go ahead in January 2009 as originally planned.
Their discussions will centre on the progress of a bill designed to extend the length of the lease Auckland council can grant for the Stanley St site, which sits on the Auckland Domain.
The Auckland Domain Act provides only for the granting of a 20-year lease, while Next Generation has insisted on a minimum of at least 50 years in return for its funding.
Labour and National backed a bill enabling the change of the lease length at its first parliamentary reading in November. The support of both major political parties means the bill is almost certain to pass but the time it takes to progress through parliament could yet cause the redevelopment to be put back to January 2010.
A further delay would not be good news for Auckland Tennis, which has an annual battle to maintain the quality of its flagship international tournaments.
Auckland Tennis chief executive Graham Pearce said the lease amendment bill could take until July to clear Parliament but key decisions would have to be made as early as next month if the project was to go ahead as planned next year.
"It is a long process but that is the way it has to go, unfortunately," Pearce said. "It may be able to be fast-tracked a little bit through Parliament if they contract the readings of the bill and, hopefully, by the middle of the year we will have a clear understanding of whether the approvals have all been ticked off.
"I know we'd like to get [the redevelopment] under way in January next year."
The only political party with reservations about the project appears to be the Maori Party, which was yet to check if there were any local tribal concerns.
Public submissions on the bill close on January 31 and will then be discussed at select committee.
Pearce, however, isn't expecting any significant public objections to a project that will be entirely privately funded.
"I can't understand why people would object to it when it is not costing the ratepayer or the taxpayer of New Zealand any money. In fact, to my knowledge the [existing] stadium has never had any [public] money put into it at all. The site is leased to us but all the development here is thanks to the efforts of many generations of tennis lovers and volunteers.
"And what we are proposing for this development is of no cost to the ratepayer or taxpayer. There are not many stadiums in New Zealand that can say that."
Resource consents have been lodged and plans are at an advanced stage. The concept is a dual-purpose design, with the facility to be suitable for day-to-day use and the hosting of major tournaments.
"It has to be able to handle two different scenarios so quite a bit of thought has gone into the actual plan itself."
The only thing stopping Pearce and Next Generation - which has built a similar facility in Adelaide - pulling the trigger is the lease issue.
"We won't put anything out to tender until we know the process is looking positive," Pearce said.
With Next Generation sure to be looking for a return on their investment, the development will need to be capable of turning a profit. Private memberships are sure to provide a significant proportion of the facility's income.
"They are not putting in $25 million out of charity," Pearce said. "It is a win-win. They are putting in the capital, we get the benefit of the development, and the citizens of Auckland get a wonderful facility."
