After approving an unbudgeted $300,000 in funding to ILT Stadium Southland, the Invercargill City Council would need to undertake changes in its annual plan.
Council financial controller Dale Booth said during a council meeting yesterday the funding would mean an increase of 3.5% in rates for the next financial year.
This amount is more than the 2.95% increase included in the draft annual plan and also more than the 3.14% forecast in the long-term plan.
The council planned to discuss the adoption of the annual plan in that meeting, but the debate was postponed because of the funding approval and required changes in the document.
The Southland Indoor Leisure Centre Charitable Trust, which owns and operates the stadium, has requested an increased $700,000 in funding a year from the council.
This mean it would need an unbudgeted addition of $300,000 as council had already put $400,000 a year in the venue.
Chief executive Clare Hadley presented a report in which she suggested the matter be considered within the spaces and places plan on which the park manager was working.
She said stadium officials' comparisons to the council's contributions towards facilities such as the library, Splash Palace and Civic Theatre were unfair as the ILT was not owned by the council.
Mrs Hadley said the council's contribution from last year had not been applied to maintenance and the money was invested.
Trust treasurer Neil Affleck said its current operational funding was $1,270,000. If the funding was not approved, 90% of this amount would be needed to cover operational deficits from this year.
In 2018-19 there were fewer events at the stadium than previous years.
"Almost all of the funding - the council's $400,000 - would be used to cover the operational costs. The remaining will be held to simply provide a contingency should the stadium deficit be greater that was budgeted.''
Cr Lloyd Esler supported the funding and said the council should "come up with the extra money'' as the community benefits from the stadium were huge.
Cr Toni Biddle moved a motion to approve the funding for the next financial year.
She also suggested the matter be discussed in the council's spaces and places plan and return to the council for further funding in the other years.
"This facility is used by a huge portion of the community and I have to say we don't have many indoor venues left.''
The motion was approved by full council.
