Viewpoint – Fighting loss of stadium

The North Harbour Stadium is under threat from a recently advanced proposal from within Council to demolish it. More than likely the lion’s share of the proceeds from the land sale for apartments would go outside North Harbour. The Stadium and the whole sporting precinct of fields and recreational facilities excepting the pool complex would go.

Having seen the scant half-baked finances for this proposal, I can tell you it doesn’t stack up. There is a growing shortage of recreational facilities – outdoors and indoors on the Shore, the Hibiscus Coast, Upper Harbour and Rodney. We need more, not less.

Hibiscus Coast residents have used and still enjoy the stadium precinct for a whole range of sporting and recreational activities. Successful All Black Tests including against South Africa, League Tests, FIFA World Cup matches, international concerts, and huge numbers of events including school balls and sports awards have been hosted there. Then there’s all the clubs and codes that enjoy the fields and facilities.

But since the takeover by one of the Council Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs) – namely Regional Facilities now Auckland Unlimited – the Stadium has been poorly operated and managed, run-down, butchered to accommodate the loss-making Tuataras Baseball franchise. So now they propose demolition and land sale to prop up other poorly managed stadiums. What a disaster of apparent incompetence.

A coalition of North Harbour sporting groups, Local Boards, your Albany Ward Councillors Walker and Watson, legacy trustees and supporters, North Harbour MPs and more have come together to save the Stadium and the surrounding recreational precinct. We cannot allow this kind of idiot thinking to gain traction.

People have told me the solution is for North Habour based operation and management of the Stadium; that Auckland Unlimited should step aside – perhaps even be dissolved and brought into Council if they don’t work as an effective operator and manager. With the upcoming Long Term Plan or Budget for Council now underway it’s now the time to put options like this on the table – so we can have alternative economic and operational options that may well work much better for our rapidly growing sub-region and Auckland as a whole.

There are other CCOs whose performance deserves reappraisal. Look at the way Auckland Transport has allowed the run-down of the Gulf Harbour Ferry service and now proposes a bus service that would be a slower, less convenient, less productive substitute for what was a successful, well patronised transport trip to the city – beating the ever-growing traffic congestion on our Whangaparāoa and wider Auckland roads.

Yes, we can and must stand up to, challenge and contest these wrongful proposals. This up-coming Long Term Plan can be used for bad ends or better.

With your help I will be working to ensure our communities get the options so that we can express, find and make the better solutions that work for our Coast communities.