The great stadium debate

Are stadiums a joyful symbol of a thriving city - or a wasteful excess draining ratepayer finances? The stadium debate in Auckland has been raging for decades and may be close to a final decision. That doesn't mean the argument is overIf building one of Auckland's possible waterfront stadiums was funded privately, it would need to hold a sold-out Ed Sheeran concert every weekday for 25 years.That's Rob Hamlin's finding - he's a senior marketing lecturer at the University of Otago."It's not going to happen - forget about it," he tells The Detail. Auckland is the latest New Zealand city to go through a contentious stadium debate. An Auckland Council working group is considering four proposals to upgrade its stadia - three options in the central city and one to redevelop Eden Park.Upgrading Eden Park looks like being the frontrunner, but Hamlin isn't convinced city councillors won't pull a surprise on us. "Let's say we're looking at the option known as 'The Crater'," Hamlin says. That's a proposal for a waterfront stadium sunk into the seabed."It's the most expensive of the three - by a small margin. That's $2 billion, so if you were going to say that's entirely built by private money... you're going to have to generate, after all of your expenses have been paid, $160 million a year to justify the use of that private capital in that building. That's $3 million a week."Hamlin sees what's going on in Auckland as a repeat of the Dunedin debate, as its roofed Forsyth Barr Stadium, built in 2011, caused conflict and controversy."At the moment, the events are tracking along very similarly,'' he says."The Dunedin stadium started with a proposal to upgrade the old stadium at Carisbrook ... then all of a sudden this suggestion came more or less out of left field that we should build a new stadium up in the other end of town near the university."The cost reached $224.4 million, and Hamlin believes it's been a bad use of ratepayers' money."Professional sport is now a business and if that sport cannot pay its way, it doesn't happen in the form that they would want it to happen."Public affairs consultant Brian Finn has written extensively about stadia, especially in Auckland. He takes The Detail through where Auckland's four stadia - Eden Park, Mt Smart, North Harbour and Western Springs - are at now; then considers the four proposals to upgrade the city's stadium. …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details