Christchurch City Council is increasing the budget for the city’s multi-use arena and committing to a design and construction contract that will see building get under way by the year’s end.
“Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island and it should have a multi-use arena where top international acts can perform and the All Blacks, the Crusaders and other sporting greats can play. We also need to be preparing for the future of entertainment and Esports is taking off around the world.
“That was the strong message we got from the public during the consultation process and today we have responded to that,’’ Mayor Lianne Dalziel says.
“We have agreed to increase the budget for the arena to $683 million and we are going to enter into a Design and Construction contract with lead contractor BESIX Watpac so that we can put the debate about the arena behind us and get on with building it.
“The cost of the arena is much higher than we envisaged when we first began planning for this project. But no-one could have foreseen the global events – the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Europe – which have disrupted supply chains, pushed-up commodity prices and led to an over-heated construction market,’ the Mayor says.
“The reality is that we cannot build the type of multi-use arena that we want for Christchurch for the money that we have on the books. Unless we are willing to significantly scale back the size and scope of the arena, we have to increase the budget.
“The good news is that Te Kaha Project Delivery Limited has been able to secure a fixed price contract for the design and construction of the arena, which means the Council is protected from the risk of further cost escalations,’’ the Mayor says.
“I want to thank the Te Kaha Board for all the work they have done to get us to this point. Today’s vote is a vote of confidence in their ability to deliver this project. They have given us certainty on the costs, scale and scope of the project, which means the Council is now in a position to enter into a contract with BESIX Watpac so they and the Kōtui Consortium can get on with the job of building us a world-class multi-use arena in the heart of our city.
“With this arena, the days of Christchurch being bypassed for big entertainment and sporting events will be over,’’ Mayor Dalziel says.
“We are also future-proofing this world-class entertainment venue for Esports, which in terms of global audience is on an exponential curve. You can have 30,000 people in a stadium and millions online, all participating in the same event.’’
Board Chair Barry Bragg says the arena is the missing piece in Christchurch’s rebuilt city centre and he is delighted the Council has made the decision to push on with it.
“The Council is making a very significant investment in the arena but if Christchurch residents want to have big concerts and sports events in their city, we need this venue,’’ Mr Bragg says.
“To get a fixed price contract for the arena in these volatile times is a significant accomplishment and we really appreciate the way that BESIX Watpac has worked with us to achieve this.’’
BESIX Watpac Chief Executive Mark Baker says the decision to move ahead with the project and realise the Council vision for a landmark multi-use stadium, capable of facilitating world-class sporting matches and international entertainment acts, will be celebrated now and into the future.
“This will be an iconic stadium, one of only two in the world with a fully enclosed roof and natural grass playing field,” Mr Baker says.
“The stadium will also be built to withstand Christchurch seismic activity not only on completion but during construction, which by any standard is a challenging and unique task.”
Mr Baker says BESIX Watpac will continue to work with Christchurch City Council and Te Kaha Project Delivery Limited to closely manage the delivery and the construction timetable.
The company has already let trade packages for early works and will continue to lock-in local trades and suppliers early to secure works certainty and manage cost well ahead of the construction schedule.
1. There are homeless and minimally-housed people in Christchurch;
2. The sewer / wastewater plant is still trashed, and an on-going health hazard;
3. The retention ponds need to be treated w/ chlorine and aeration;
4. Water mains are cracked throughout the city due to the quakes post 4 September 2010, made worse by 22 February 2011 and the associated aftershocks;
5. Roading and traffic is absolute dogshit, with the ‘new’ motorways causing more problems than what they were planned to relieve;
6. Crime going up..up..UP..!!!
So, only three (3) City Council Members voted common sense, the rest voted for this monstrosity that will overshadow everything that surrounds it, and billions will probably be spent due to a cost blow-out or a many-year work stoppage due to World War Four going kinetic and preventing building supplies from reaching the islands.
No Civil Planning for traffic saturations, no vehicle parking to be seen, and very few venues to support the cost effectiveness of such a ‘Grand (Grand Lodge Members Only benefit from the construction…) Design’!
No additional accommodations for public transport drop off points.
ALL of this for a game that benefits no one, except those rich enough to bet on the human livestock that participates in the same, bashing their brains with concussion, injuries, cauliflower ears and a grand sense of ‘AB Entitlement’!
Most people will not actively participate in the venues offered; they will only sit there in the ‘Grand Stand’ spreading Covid, Monkeypox, Plague, Flu, Polio, for a couple of hours, and then play hell trying to get home!
Even though you may not agree with the very limited use of such a massive, if not monstrous ‘investment’, ALL will be paying for this ‘venue’ despite 90% of the population choosing to stay home!
The money would be better spent correcting problems #’s 1-6.
Insofar as the transportation to the east, why bother if there is ‘climate Change’ which will be wiping out the greater Christchurch coastal areas?
Better to build a mono-rail that is resistant to quakes, flooding, wind, and runs above all other traffic…
All city councils are technically bankrupt in terms of their operations and over-spending on non-essentials. Standard and Poor rating is mandatory for all councils, which in turn determines how much they can borrow (why????) and spend on non-essential projects. The assets of the councils are mortgaged and over time, councils will be forced to sell them by the banks. The Go After Yanks (GAY) model created poor infrastructurer and lack of maintanence in US. It is only a matter of time, we will end up in thge same state.
Councils should not be allowed to increase their rates beyond the rate of inflation; they should not borrow from Banks mortgaging the public assets. But “system pigs” dominate the councils who must be fed, right?
Absolute waste of money rates will skyrocket ,what a bunch of dick heads the city council is .
They are “system pigs” who cant stop eating rate payers dollars. All councils are the same; they all borrow heavily in order to expand non-essential services, at the cost of essential services (which will all be privatised soon)