Christchurch will get its new covered stadium - finally.
This afternoon the Christchurch City Council voted to sign a fixed-price $683 million contract to build Te Kaha, a new multi-use arena.
The price means the council will have to invest an extra $150 million, a cost that will be recouped through a rates increase.
Just three councillors - Melanie Coker, Sara Templeton and Celeste Donovan - voted against signing a fixed-price contract for the build, with 13 councillors voting for.
The decision is monumental for Ōtautahi - a city that has not had a top-level stadium for more than a decade.
Councillors gathered this morning to make the crucial decision on whether the controversial stadium build will go ahead, be put on hold or be scrapped altogether.
The meeting began at 10am with scheduled submissions including representatives from Hospitality New Zealand, the Central City Business Association and Crusaders and Canterbury Rugby and the vote was held this afternoon.
Christchurch mayor Liane Dalziel opened the meeting with words of advice to councillors:
"This is not a straightforward decision to make, it is not an easy decision to make. There are a range of factors … the diversity of communities we represent and their interests."
Dalziel said the council must also take a "sustainable development approach" and consider carefully the "reasonably foreseeable needs of future generations".
They also had to balance competing interests.
"You must exercise your vote based on your assessment of how this best represents the interests of the district as a whole. The responsibility lies with each and every one of you individually."
Councillors heard details of the venue specifics and what it could offer. Te Kaha will have a capacity of 30,000 and will be used not only for sports matches but concerts, trade shows and expos.
Last year, the council decided to slash the stadium's capacity by 5000 to 25,000 in response to the rising cost - then did a U-turn after a public outcry.
The stadium would be able to host three large concerts and four "reduced mode" concerts each year as well as All Blacks test, seven Super Rugby matches, five domestic rugby games, one football, one rugby league and two "other rugby" fixtures. It could also host tennis and boxing events as was a "flexible" venue and a "mega event" every six years.
There would be 32 food and beverage outlets, multiple bars and areas for children and students.
Te Kaha would also boast parenting rooms, passenger lifts, escalators and world-class lines of sight from every seat.
The project aimed to support "measurable" action in climate change and a range of factors including solar and energy-efficient lighting would be used to make sure the stadium was environmentally friendly.
There would not be any car parking on site in a bid to "change behaviours around private car use". Bike and scooter parking will be plentiful.
Councillors were assured that the fixed-price contract was the best option for the project.
Te Kaha Project Delivery Limited chairman Barry Bragg said the contract was "lump sum" and there would be "no cost escalation".
A key clause in the deal was that the contractor had to deliver a fit-for-purpose facility within the agreed scope, Bragg said, and there were "very few risks sitting outside the contractor's responsibility".
"We are confident we can deliver," he said.
Singing submission at meeting
Hospitality New Zealand president Peter Morrison livened up meeting with a musical number this morning.
In front of amused councillors, Morrison sang a version of John Lennon's Imagine to lyrics about the proposed stadium.
"Imagine there's a stadium, it's easy if you try," he said.
"No empty land wasted, above us only ... a roof."
After the presentation, Mayor Lianne Dalziel said Christchurch City Council chief executive Dawn Baxendale, who has 33 years' experience in local government, told her Morrison's vocal presentation was her first karaoke submission.
Dalziel thanked Morrison for a "very effective" presentation.
- By Geoff Sloan
Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
The road to Te Kaha
In 2010 and 2011, the Christchurch earthquakes irreparably damaged AMI Stadium - formerly Lancaster Park.
The plan to create a covered multi-use arena was put forward by a Government panel in 2012, detailing how both local and central government would foot the bill.
The projected cost was $470 million. But that later rose to $533 million, and in recent months the Christchurch City Council revealed the proposed design for the stadium, Te Kaha, had blown its budget again.
The cost then spiked to $683 million - with the $150 million increase being blamed on rising international costs in materials and construction.
The price hike sparked a public consultation last month and the council received 30,000 public submissions about the project.
Of those, 77 per cent of people were in favour of meeting the extra costs. A further 8 per cent supported a pause and re evaluate approach and 15 per cent wanted a complete halt to the stadium's construction.
Councillors had three options ahead of today's meeting: to vote to invest the additional $150 million to enable the project to continue as planned; stop the project altogether; or pause and re-evaluate the project.
The design and construction submission for Te Kaha - on which councillors will base their decision - was revealed to the public on Tuesday.
Te Kaha Project Delivery Limited chairman Barry Bragg said the design and construction submission had been thoroughly reviewed and recommended the council enter into the fixed price contract.
In signing the contract the council will need to add $150 million to its current budget for the arena.
Bragg said on Tuesday that if that happened rates would need to increase by a net 1.24 per cent.
"Overall, building the arena will cost the average residential property $144 a year between 2025 and 2027. After then, the amount they will need to pay will decrease slowly over 30 years as the debt is repaid."
The report also revealed that if the council voted to stop the project there would b $40 million in "sunk costs that it will be unable to recover". It may then also be liable for further costs.
- Reporting by NZ Herald
