Eden Park, Blues v Hurricanes, round 12 of Super Rugby Pacific 2024. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
Eden Park is in the running to be named Auckland's main stadium. CEO Nick Sautner says he's already got the neighbourhood behind him.
Just weeks before it could be named as Auckland's main stadium, Eden Park has become a political football over its expansion ambitions, which include a hotel, high rise student flats and a retractable roof and seats.
Eden Park and its rival Te Tōngaroa/Quay Park have until next Tuesday, 4 February to submit their feasibility studies to Auckland Council. A decision is expected soon after.
Win or lose, chief executive Nick Sautner says he will press ahead with plans for Eden Park 2.1 and he's confident he has almost total community support.
Last week, a long-time vociferous opponent, neighbour and former prime minister Helen Clark lashed out at Prime Minister Christopher Luxon when he said the limit on the number of concerts at Eden Park should be abolished.
The stadium is permitted to have 12 concerts a year, after the council approved Eden Park's application to double the limit late last year. Luxon said more concerts could boost the country's local economy, saying Eden Park "plays a pivotal role in the ongoing economic revitalisation of our country".
Eden Park chief executive Nick Sautner standing on the stadiums field Photo: Sharon Brettkelly
In response, Clark told the New Zealand Herald that Luxon's comment is "consistent with his government's rejection of sound planning law, policy, and practice as evidenced in the 'fast track' legislation".
Clark has been a member of the Eden Park Neighbours Association, formed more than two decades ago to oppose night games and concerts. It continues to fight expansion of events in its bid to protect the character of the area.
Sautner says in the last five years Eden Park's business has been transformed - "we've sweated the asset".
"Seventy percent of today's revenue wasn't part of our business model five years ago."
But he says before the owner, Eden Park Trust, could make changes such as introduce concerts, it first needed to convince the community.
He tells The Detail how he has met with the detractors and supporters, and how the Eden Park team set up The Hood, a neighbourhood supporters' club.
Eden Park was prepared to change things involving the community that it hadn't done well in the past, says Sautner, but the compromise was that the community had to support more flexibility.
"The flexibility included concerts. We invested significantly, several million dollars to obtain our consent for concerts and in recent times a further half a million dollars to get the further six concerts."
He says the toll on the surrounding neighbourhood is not significant.
"We're talking up to 12 nights a year, the impost on the residential area versus the financial benefits to the country, the escapism, the hospitality businesses, etc."
He explains how Eden Park "provided a level of comfort within our game plan and now we have 97 percent support for the community".
Sautner also talks about plans for a hotel and student accommodation in Eden Park 2.1 and why it was on the fast track list last year.
"What we would like to see if we can secure the funding, whether it be private funding or indeed a combination of private and public partnership, [is that] we're not in a process whereby it takes us 10 years to get approval through a consenting process.
"As someone who is proud to be a Kiwi now, I want major infrastructure projects to be delivered in New Zealand to be delivered in a timely and financially viable fashion."
And while Luxon says there should be no restrictions on the number of concerts at Eden Park, Sautner makes it clear that there will never be events every day of the year.
This year 35 event days are booked but only 10 will be sold out.
"Even with all opportunities of consenting, I still think a calendar of 45 event days is probably going to be the maximum at Eden Park. I don't think there's the demand or the population that could sustain much more."
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