The Warriors are set to stay at Mt Smart - at least for the next 15 years or so.
Nothing has yet been agreed, but it's believed the Warriors and Regional Facilities Auckland have been discussing a new 10-year lease for the NRL club after their current deal expires in 2018.
It's a significant turnaround from earlier this year, when the Warriors fate seemed sealed and they were going to be moved from their long-time home at the end of the 2018 season.
They were granted a stay of execution - when Auckland Councillors agreed to their request in May to take another year to examine all of the options - and now it appears there has been a pronounced change in thinking.
The previous arrangement, which saw the Warriors being moved to QBE Stadium in Albany and speedway becoming the principal tenants at Mt Smart, is now down the list of likely options.
It's more probable that speedway will remain at Western Springs for a few years beyond its current lease (2016), before moving to an alternative venue. The proposed cricket oval at Western Springs is still on the agenda but may not happen within the original timeframe.
After discussions over the past six months, the Warriors and RFA have moved much closer to an understanding. There is a recognition that Mt Smart needs a facelift - although not at the extreme cost previously touted, between $40 and $70 million.
And the Warriors are believed to be willing to contribute to the cost of upgrading the Penrose venue to bring it up to standard with other NRL club venues in Australia. It's expected any new deal will be agreed before the start of the upcoming NRL season.
The change in direction has been facilitated by RFA chief executive Chris Brooks, who has taken a much more consultative approach than his predecessor Robert Domm.
"We have been having some really good discussion with the Warriors about post-2018," Brooks told Newstalk ZB yesterday. "We are not to an endpoint [but agreeing a new lease] is a likely outcome that will occur next year."
Brooks was appointed in mid March and has spent the last nine months consulting with stakeholders, from professional sporting clubs to community groups. He said the overall direction of the strategy - optimising the use of Auckland stadiums and reducing the burden on ratepayers - had not changed but the way it is implemented will.
Brooks also signalled speedway will shift from Western Springs to a yet to be determined venue.
"Ultimately, speedway, for the growth and future of its sport, probably needs to find a new home," said Brooks. "We have two or three options that we are looking at at the moment."
The RFA's stadium strategy has had many incarnations since it was first developed in 2012, but the latest is perhaps the most logical. The original plan called for the Warriors to move to Eden Park, which was always going to be an ambitious idea. It remains an unpopular venue among league fans due to the distance from the action and is bereft of atmosphere unless it is more than half full. It is also, by far, the most expensive stadium to rent in the country and has cumbersome resource management act restrictions.
A subsequent favoured option called for QBE Stadium, which has major access issues and is located far from the league heartlands in West and South Auckland, to become the Warriors home, including the (surely fanciful) idea of a retractable roof at a cost of just $12 million.
The current plan seems to make the most sense. Retain Mt Smart for the medium-term future, while investigating the long-term possibility of a rectangular stadium in central Auckland.
