Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher said building a new grandstand as part of the event centre was not confirmed, but if sufficient funding was found to cover both developments it would be "fantastic to see both proceed".
The new concept plans show how a grandstand could be incorporated into the build, he said.
"It’s been treated as an add-on because, basically, it has to be.
"It’s a separate fundraising challenge."
Last year, the North Otago Rugby Union highlighted its desire for the ageing grandstand at Centennial Park to be replaced, and pitched the idea of incorporating a new grandstand development as part of the event centre project. It was estimated to cost about $2million to $3million.
The idea received a lot of support in submissions to the council’s long-term plan, but was not included in the business case, which was developed earlier. At a December council meeting, several councillors made a case for incorporating it into the business case, but chief executive Alex Parmley was cautious about doing so until the scale of the project was understood.
At Tuesday’s full council meeting, Mr Kircher told councillors fundraising for the new centre was "closing in on the $20million mark", which was a great achievement and credit to the hard work of the Waitaki Event Centre Trust. The trust has raised $9,313,180.
The council was still working towards a May 2024 opening, in time for the netball season, and the next six months were "very critical" in getting the bulk of funding secured, plans finalised and contractors on board, Mr Kircher said.
"All of those things really need to happen over the next six months," he said.
Earlier this year, Mr Kircher, Mr Parmley and others involved in the project visited the new sports and events centres in Rolleston and Rangiora. The eight-court Rolleston centre, which had a sport focus, cost $22million, while the Rangiora centre, a multipurpose four-court indoor stadium for sports and major events, cost $28million.
"It was interesting to see two buildings which had been built for similar purposes, but differing focuses and procurement techniques," Mr Kircher said.
It was important Waitaki’s six-court centre was multipurpose and functional for various uses, and that it was built with as much local input as possible, Mr Kircher said.
"Getting all of that right, as well as having a quality facility that keeps to our budget will not be easy, but there are a lot of good people working towards those outcomes," he said.
In his report to councillors, Mr Parmley said the council was working towards securing design and construction partners by next month. A resource consent had been obtained, but a variation may be required subject to the final design, he said.
An application for funding from the Otago Community Trust would be made this month, in time for its new financial year, and a lotteries application in July.
