Residents are encouraged to have their say on the extra $150m for Te Kaha multi-use arena. Image / Supplied
OPINION:
15,000 and counting.
That’s the number of submissions made to the Christchurch City Council in just five days on the future of a new stadium.
Facebook has been awash with posts from city councillors, business operators and key stakeholders all encouraging people to have their say on Christchurch’s 30,000-seat multi-purpose arena.
Be warned – there is a lot at stake.
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For those who have read the council’s full ‘Have your Say’ pages, one chilling line sums up what is on the line.
“If Te Kaha is not built,” it reads, “there will be no venue in Canterbury suitable for large sporting or entertainment events in the medium to long term, and the Crown investment would be withdrawn.”
In other words, it would be the end for any new stadium or event centre in the foreseeable future if this one is not signed off and completed, despite the cost blowout of an extra $150m.
It would also leave New Zealand’s largest city outside of Auckland, and the country’s second-largest economy, without a multi-purpose venue.
You could forget about any future replacement for the small, tired temporary stadium, held up by nuts and bolts at Addington that’s well past its use-by date and was only supposed to last five years.
I went online and had my say – I’ve said enough about it here in weekly opinion pieces in the New Zealand Herald – and it took me less than five minutes to complete.
The most important page asked me to tick one of three boxes.
• Invest the additional $150 million to enable the project to continue as planned
• Stop the project altogether
• Pause and re-evaluate the project
Crusaders CEO Colin Mansbridge shared the rugby franchise’s submission in an open letter to the mayor and councillors, firmly stabbing the giant Crusaders sword into the ground and calling on city leaders to keep the promise made to build a new stadium.
“Stopping is not an option,” said Mansbridge. “A promise was made – please deliver on the promise.”
The Crusaders convincingly won their semifinal on the weekend against the Chiefs in terrible weather at the scaffold stadium.
Afterwards, players and coach Scott Robertson had a subtle dig at the outdated Addington ground and the need for a new one.
That is why it is important that you too have your say before a decision is made on July 14.
Will the Canterbury multi-purpose arena still go ahead?
I hope so.
Are the submissions binding?
No.
Will the council listen to your feedback?
You bet.
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