Mr Snedden said he was reluctant to ‘‘blackmail'' the Carisbrook Stadium Trust by putting pressure on to have the proposed stadium completed before the World Cup in November 2011.
His comments came on the same day trust chairman Malcolm Farry issued a press release maintaining the Awatea St stadium was not behind schedule.
On Tuesday, Dunedin Mayor Peter Chin floated the possibility of the stadium not being ready for the World Cup when it was revealed the trust had failed to meet a Dunedin City Council-imposed deadline to complete land acquisition work.
Mr Farry yesterday maintained the trust was still working towards the goal of completing the stadium by November 2010, a full year before the Cup starts.
Mr Snedden, who is keeping in close contact with Mr Farry's group, told the Otago Daily Times from Auckland yesterday he was not concerned at suggestions the stadium might not be ready for 2011.
‘‘Not at the moment. Having gone through the issues with Eden Park, which are of a similar nature, I'm well aware of the complexities these guys are facing,'' Mr Snedden said.
‘‘I'm happy to have a watching brief on things and give them the time they need. ‘‘This is a huge thing for Dunedin and the trust needs the proper opportunity to work through the various obstacles that they will inevitably face on a fairly consistent basis.''
Mr Snedden said RWC 2011 had no immediate need to be told by the trust if the stadium was going ahead and when it would be completed. ‘‘We actually won't need to know until later in the year. If it takes them till June or July to sort it out, that's fine by us. They've probably even got longer than that.
‘‘I don't want to ratchet up the pressure on them by creating false deadlines or whatever. They've got enough on their plate.'' If the new stadium project is abandoned, or delayed, it raises the question of what role, if any, Carisbrook would play in the 2011 World Cup.
Mr Snedden said no decision could be made on what games would be played in Dunedin until it was firm what stadium the city could offer. He would neither rule out nor affirm the possibility of Carisbrook hosting games in its present state.
He pointed out the New Zealand Rugby Union had sufficient faith in Carisbrook to allocate it a test between the All Blacks and Springboks in July. ‘‘We'd obviously prefer a new stadium, but I won't create a blackmail situation.
‘‘In the end, the decision about the stadium has to be made in the long-term interests of Dunedin.'' Mr Farry acknowledged the land acquisition programme was taking longer than expected, but completing the stadium in time for 2011 was an ‘‘achievable target''.
He also stressed a key driver for the project was delivering the University of Otago facilities for the end of 2011.
‘‘It just so happens that the university timeframe ties in quite nicely with the timeframe for the Rugby World Cup,'' Mr Farry said. It was understandable the city council was keeping the pressure on because it was the primary stakeholder in the proposed stadium.
