The city council will vote tomorrow on whether or not to proceed with the 30,000-seat indoor arena, which is currently expected to cost $683 million after a $150 million blowout.
It has been suggested that Canterbury’s neighboring councils could help foot the bill, but when the council recently sat down with its neighbours, it didn’t throw the hat around or even broach the subject.
“The City Council gave us and some other Canterbury councils an update briefing last week – focusing on the design of the arena and the process the council is following,” said Hamish Riach, Ashburton District Council chief.
“The briefing didn’t make any general or specific request to us at all, it was just an update on where the city council is located.”
The discussion about the funding request can still come after today’s decision.
Te Kaha Project Delivery Limited (TKPDL) has managed to negotiate a fixed price for the multi-purpose arena with main contractor BESIX Watpac, and the City Council will consider that offer tomorrow.
TKPDL chairman, Barry Bragg, said they are confident the arena can be delivered at a total project cost of $683 million, including enough contingencies to cover any issues that may arise during construction.
It is estimated that $30 million would be spent on review and redesign, pushing the completion date by 9 to 12 months to 2027.
Locations Ōtautahi, who will operate the arena, will also brief the council on key design features, economic impacts and life cycle costs of the multi-purpose arena.
The city council received about 30,000 submissions about the possibility of increasing the budget for the multi-purpose arena and 77 percent supported putting more money into the project.
Research analyst Aimee Martin said only eight percent of submitters said they would pause and re-evaluate the project, while 15 percent want it to be halted completely.
The City Council meeting begins at 10 a.m. and will be broadcast live.
– By Jonathan Leask
Reporting on local democracy