Goodbye Mt Smart, hello North Shore

[SpaceMonkey]

Good news on the delayed decision- I think that clearly shows they're concerned about the Warriors opposition to the move and have essentially given the club some time to come up with some strategies to keep Mt Smart.
I think the ball is in our court now, I'd want the club to be putting forward some plans for a reasonably priced upgrade strategy, as well as get other potential tenants onside. Where are Counties-Manukau Rugby playing out of nowadays? Any chance of getting them into Mt Smart for some games?
Re the condition of the stadium, the Eastern stand is only a decade old, so I assume it's in good nick. I assume the south stand is still the old Eastern Stand scaffold seating which would require minimal maintenance, and the north end is still the hill which can stay, or just have temporary seating put there as has sometimes been done in the past. So basically the money would be needed to refurb the Western Stand, which is getting pretty long in the tooth. The basic structure looks ok from what I can tell, so it'd basically be a case of repairing/refurbishing what there and improving facilities, correct? Does it need any other work?

 

[mikeob]

If the council are concerned about the money that needs to be spent why don't they let the Warriors, have a 50 or 100 year lease of Mt Smart with peppercorn rent. Maybe get the NZRL & ARL on board as well. Sell the idea to the council from the point of view it will save them major money and it puts the three main rugby league bodies in charge of their future.

 

[Rich102]

If the council are concerned about the money that needs to be spent why don't they let the Warriors, have a 50 or 100 year lease of Mt Smart with peppercorn rent. Maybe get the NZRL & ARL on board as well. Sell the idea to the council from the point of view it will save them major money and it puts the three main rugby league bodies in charge of their future.

Like your thinking!

 

[TheDalek079]

so they're delaying a decision for 12 months so that they can speak to those concerned. shouldn't they have been doing this for the last couple of years instead of being stubborn and inflexible about their crappy ideas?

 

[One Warrior]

so they're delaying a decision for 12 months so that they can speak to those concerned. shouldn't they have been doing this for the last couple of years instead of being stubborn and inflexible about their crappy ideas?

Yeah you would of thought so wouldn't you, it would be obvious to anyone else , except the RFA and the Auckland Council.

 

[Rich102]

By Jim Doyle:

WHAT a week it has been for the club with the Mount Smart Stadium campaign taking another turn,
Issac Luke being signed and the Vodafone Warriors pulling off one of the most exciting wins in our
history.
It’s fantastic starting a new week with such positive news but we do need to temper our enthusiasm about the
Mount Smart debate.
While thrilled with the decision that the Auckland Councillors reached last week, but we’re a long way from
home in this battle. In fact, in many ways our campaign to stop us being forced out of Mount Smart is only
just beginning.
We were naturally delighted the councillors agreed to defer the stadium strategy decision for 12 months and
we would like to thank all our members and fans that contacted their respective councillors as this obviously
had a positive effect, but it is still only a reprieve.
Now the hard work really begins. We don’t have much time but we will fight for our right to keep our home.
We will not be moved because we believe we belong at Mount Smart and that this club means so much and
contributes so much to Auckland.
Our members and fans are more critical than ever. Your level of support and passion will help us in this battle.
To that end we urge you to continue doing all you can to convince your local councillors that the Vodafone
Warriors must remain at Mount Smart Stadium.
Thanks once again on behalf of our chairman Bill Wavish, the board and everyone else at the club for the way
you have rallied in support of this cause so far. We need it more than ever from here on in.

From Issue 72 of the Ma Butcher's newsletter.

 

[ozbash]

From Issue 72 of the Ma Butcher's newsletter.

awesome read..

 

[cablenathan]

By Jim Doyle:

From Issue 72 of the Ma Butcher's newsletter.

Is that the Butcher's wife?

 

[spear tackle]

so they're delaying a decision for 12 months so that they can speak to those concerned. shouldn't they have been doing this for the last couple of years instead of being stubborn and inflexible about their crappy ideas?

Call me cynical, but the delay seems to me more about councilers trying to keep their jobs beyond the next election when you look at other unpopular plans like the fireplace ban and port extension all been out on hold.
But in their case its far little too late.

 

[LeagueNut]

Jim Doyle for Mayor!!!

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11449396

Warriors boss: It's time to bulldoze Eden Park

Warriors boss calls for new dedicated football stadium in centre of city instead of propping up old rugby relic.

Warriors boss Jim Doyle wants Eden Park knocked down in what would be a controversial but vital step towards building a dedicated football stadium in downtown Auckland.

Doyle, who returned to New Zealand after two years as the NRL's chief operating officer, has already persuaded the Auckland Council to quit its attempts to force the Warriors out of Mt Smart in a reshuffle he says aims to prop up Eden Park. He believes it is time to let go of a big part of Auckland's history to create a vibrant future.

Doyle wants the Blues and Auckland rugby games relocated temporarily to Mt Smart, a dedicated football stadium. In a happy coincidence, the Blues' new HQ is nearby, at Alexandra Park.

The ultimate goal would be a 40,000-seat downtown stadium as the home of rugby, league and football with money from the sale of outdated, poorly-located Eden Park contributing to the costs. The city stadium would rejuvenate sport and boost the centre of town, with tourists who shun outlying stadiums also attracted to the new arena.

Doyle says he is continually frustrated at the favoured status of rugby, especially when it blocks vital progress. The national game could no longer sit on an ineffective stadium with a 50,000 capacity it hardly ever needed. This situation was preventing Auckland getting the football facility it desperately needed.

"We missed a massive opportunity with the waterfront idea [before the 2011 Rugby World Cup] and I think Auckland deserves much better than just moving the dominoes around, which is what they are trying to do now," he said. "Someone needs the vision to make it happen at the waterfront where transport is really good, there are restaurants and bars, it is alive, humming.

"What will happen in another 10 years with the current attitude - another $100 million on Eden Park? They will find reasons to justify it for ever and a day. Why not move the Blues and the ITM Cup games here at Mt Smart, the Wellington Phoenix could also play here, then sell Eden Park and all the land and look to build the waterfront stadium.

"I don't know what Eden Park is worth, the debt or the land value. But I was stunned when the waterfront idea didn't happen. Every city in the world is going that sort of way, building [smaller] stadiums where they keep the lower ticket prices the same, put the higher ticket prices up, and still make as much money."

A waterfront stadium might have the vote of the people, but Doyle knows Eden Park is a rugby status symbol that the national game may want to cling to. But he said automatic rugby-centric decisions by those in power had to stop. "For me, knocking Eden Park down is the option ... how many times each year does rugby actually need that capacity?"

 

[JJ]

:lol: umm, whether or not I agree with him on one level, but Eden Park wont be bulldozed in the near future - it's not Athletic Park, to be fair

 

[Blair]

:lol: umm, whether or not I agree with him on one level, but Eden Park wont be bulldozed in the near future - it's not Athletic Park, to be fair

I need to go away and have a good think about what Doyle suggested. Eden Park is such a historic venue, demolishing it is not something you'd let a current CEO of a footy club have a great deal of say in.

Also, I'm sure any national government funds put towards a potential new stadium would be better spent fixing Christchurch's more pressing needs. If the Auckland City Council, and other local stakeholders, built a new stadium you can guarantee they would be asking the NZ government for a contribution.

 

[JJ]

I need to go away and have a good think about what Doyle suggested. Eden Park is such a historic venue, demolishing it is not something you'd let a current CEO of a footy club have a great deal of say in.

Also, I'm sure any national government funds put towards a potential new stadium would be better spent fixing Christchurch's more pressing needs. If the Auckland City Council, and other local stakeholders, built a new stadium you can guarantee they would be asking the NZ government for a contribution.

Yes, and yes...

Eden Pak has a huge history - it's not going anywhere soon - the obvious comparisons are Carisbrook and Athletic Park - but both were in pretty poor shape

Doyle should just focus on the Warriors

 

[Rich102]

Won't happen. Eden Park is owned by a trust.

 

[Marty]

He's just going on the offensive thats all with talk of demolishing eden park etc...hes just trying to alter the type of conversation that is being had about the Stadiums in Auckland.

Having said that...I totally agree with him.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

I don't buy the whole history justification. Carisbrook and Athletic Park are gone, and while fondly remembered, not really missed because they were replaced with better stadia. No reason that the same can't happen to Eden Park. However the money spent on it for the World Cup probably means it's not going to happen for a decade at least. Doyle is 100% right that the Waterfront stadium was a massive missed opportunity, it should've been built with the Warriors, Blues and both Rugby and League internationals moving there and Eden Park going to cricket only, I'd've happily sacrificed Mt Smart for that.

 

[JJ]

I don't buy the whole history justification. Carisbrook and Athletic Park are gone, and while fondly remembered, not really missed because they were replaced with better stadia. No reason that the same can't happen to Eden Park. However the money spent on it for the World Cup probably means it's not going to happen for a decade at least. Doyle is 100% right that the Waterfront stadium was a massive missed opportunity, it should've been built with the Warriors, Blues and both Rugby and League internationals moving there and Eden Park going to cricket only, I'd've happily sacrificed Mt Smart for that.

They were both run down, and pretty much dumps - Eden Park clearly is not...

In saying that, not sure the Dunedin rate-payers are enthralled, are they?

 

[TheDalek079]

My problem with a waterfront stadium is that everyone is picturing an Auckland version of Lang Park, but they'll play ODI cricket there too so it won't be really rectangular. There'll be complaints that the seats are too far away or are at funny angles. It'll be Eden Park 2.0, but on the waterfront

 

[SpaceMonkey]

My problem with a waterfront stadium is that everyone is picturing an Auckland version of Lang Park, but they'll play ODI cricket there too so it won't be really rectangular. There'll be complaints that the seats are too far away or are at funny angles. It'll be Eden Park 2.0, but on the waterfront

The Cake Tin is an oval and far superior to Eden Park. And if it was built with retractable lower tiers that would improve it even further.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

They were both run down, and pretty much dumps - Eden Park clearly is not...

In saying that, not sure the Dunedin rate-payers are enthralled, are they?

Hence my comment about how Eden Park still has a decade or so left in it. Anyway I was referring to history and both were the equal of Eden Park in that respect.

Carisbrook was hardly a dump either. Athletic Park was, though it was the best pure football stadium of the lot in its day.