What is the Eden Park Redevelopment Board?
The Eden Park Redevelopment Board is an independent Board that was established in May 2007 through an agreement between the Government and the Eden Park Trust Board. In return for underwriting the Park's redevelopment, the Government required a new Board to be established, with responsibility for project management, design decisions and fund raising for the Park upgrade ahead of the Rugby World Cup 2011. During the redevelopment the Eden Park Trust Board will continue to operate and manage the Park and the events held there.
Where is the money coming from?
| Government |
$190 million |
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| Eden Park Trust Board |
$12 million |
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| NZ Rugby Union |
$10 million |
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| ASB Community Trust |
$6.5 million |
|
| Auckland Regional Council |
$10 million |
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| Unfunded |
$12 million |
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Total required
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$240.5 million |
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How confident are you that you can close this funding gap?
Very confident. The gap does not take account of a possibly higher contribution from the Eden Park Trust Board, as well as possible contributions from Auckland City Council, other grants and sponsors and commercial partners.
Do other stadiums in NZ receive local body funding?
Yes. Waikato Stadium, Westpac Stadium and AMI Stadium are all operated by (or under trust/corporate structures), and were funded from, local government sources. The Dunedin City Council has proposed $60M of funding towards the redevelopment of Carisbrook. Eden Park has operated for 100 years without Council funding, but cannot now continue to be maintained without capital contributions from a range of public sources.
Who will own the Park after public money is put into it?
The Park has been a private trust operating for the benefit of Auckland Rugby and Auckland Cricket since its establishment. However, a condition of Government funding has been that there must be long term governance changes at the Park which will see the majority of trustees being publicly appointed, and the primary trust objective as being to operate the Park for the benefit of all Aucklanders. Legislative changes to the Eden Park Trust Act will be required to implement these changes.
What are the key factors that make this option better for the residents?
- Lights will be located in the roofline reducing light spill with the existing lighting towers will be demolished.
- There is an acoustic barrier that will reduce noise levels during events.
- The top portion of the barrier will be glassed to make it more attractive when viewed from the exterior.
- A landscaped green buffer zone will provide a softening visual barrier for residents. This will replace asphalt and concrete.
- Better access to the Park will be provided from four corner entry plazas, and patrons will reach their seats via an internal concourse. This means people won’t have to circumnavigate the park out on the streets to reach their seats.
- The post cup capacity is reduced from 60,000 to 50,000, which is an increase of only approximately 3,000 to the capacity prior to demolition in August 2008.
- Improved public access (via an elevated public plaza and concourse) between Kingsland Station/Walters Road, the stadium and the bus/coach terminal in the south west of the park.
Given the massive pressure on the construction industry is there a danger it can’t be built in time?
There will always be risks with a project of this scale and timeline. However, the Board has assembled a project team that has leading international designers, engineers and cost planners. It is also negotiating with Fletcher Construction for the main contractor role who have an unparalleled record in delivering projects in New Zealand. There are peer reviews of every stage of the project’s design and construction, and a Project Risk Management Group reviews all risks on a fortnightly basis.
To date every key stage has been delivered on schedule, and every indication is that the project will remain on schedule for delivery by the end of 2010. This leaves ample time for final Rugby World Cup 2011 preparations.
How confident are you that the $240.5 million will be the final price and won’t blow out ?
While there is always the possibility of minor changes with the budget, there is little or no prospect of a "blow out" for several reasons:
- we have significant provision within the budget ($29M) for contingencies and escalations
- we are now into the fourth of five design stages so the uncertainties are continually reducing
- the baseline scheme has not changed from the $197M in the 12 months we have been working on the design
- we brought the main contractor into the process early to minimise construction cost changes, and
- we have experienced cost planners continually reviewing the budget.
Are temporary seats of sufficient standard to host a world class event like the RWC 2011?
Yes. Temporary seats (or relocatable seats as they are known) are now part of all major international sporting and musical events. By way of example, the Olympic Stadium for London 2012 will have 55,000 temporary seats out of a total 80,000 seats. These seats are of the same quality and dimensions as permanent seats in modern stadiums.
What is the Acoustic Barrier?
The revised East Stand design, which is smaller than originally proposed, requires a barrier at the rear of the mid tier to contain noise spill from the PA system and crowd noise. The design will enable Eden Park events to be operated within the District Plan (Concept Plan) and resource consent noise limits. Both the entire East Stand and the acoustic barrier fit within the permitted buidling envelope contained in the District Plan (Concept Plan).
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