Stadium New Zealand, often called the Waterfront Stadium, was the provisional name for a national stadium proposed for the

Auckland waterfront The Auckland waterfront (rarely the Auckland harbourfront) is a city-side stretch of the southern Waitematā Harbour coastline in Auckland, New Zealand. Previously mostly dominated by Ports of Auckland uses, from the 2000s on it is becoming i ...

to host the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

. The stadium never advanced beyond a concept design. The possible choice of the location for the stadium was widely contested in politics and public opinion. The potential effects on the amenity of the waterfront and port operations, the high costs of construction as well as criticism of political interference in the decision-making process led to conflicting decisions by local bodies and abandonment of the proposal in late November 2006.

Background

Stadium site

The

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Government commissioned research on an alternative stadium to

Eden Park Eden Park is New Zealand's largest sports stadium, with a capacity of 50,000. Located in central Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, it is three kilometres southwest of the CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and King ...

for hosting the

. The proposal was to build a new stadium seating 60,000 on the

, instead of at the previously mooted site,

, which is about 3.5 kilometres away from Auckland CBD. The preferred waterfront site was over Marsden wharf. However,

Ports of Auckland Ports of Auckland Limited (POAL), the successor to the Auckland Harbour Board, is the Auckland Council-owned company administering Auckland's commercial freight and cruise ship harbour facilities. As the company operates all of the associated fa ...

, who use the land as a shipping container terminal, expressed concern that construction would not be finished in time for the

, and that the new site would remove land important for the continuing function of the country's largest commercial port.

Alternative sites

Alternative sites such as

Carlaw Park Carlaw Park was a multi-purpose stadium in Parnell, New Zealand, Parnell, a central suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It neighboured the Auckland Domain's Northern end. It was primarily used for rugby league and had a peak spectator capacity of aro ...

North Harbour Stadium North Harbour Stadium is a stadium situated in Albany, in North Shore City, New Zealand. It was opened in 1997, after nearly a decade of discussion, planning and construction. Rugby union, association football, rugby league, and baseball are a ...

and

Mt Smart Stadium Mount Smart Stadium (formerly known as Ericsson Stadium) is a multipurpose stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the main home ground of the New Zealand Warriors of the National Rugby League, and occasionally hosts rugby union and internatio ...

fell out of favour with the Government, leading to questions concerning the political motivations for such strong support for the waterfront stadium. The Government claimed Carlaw Park was not be a suitable location as several hundred trees would need to be felled, there would be a requirement for three hectares of land from the

Auckland Domain The Auckland Domain, also known as Pukekawa / Auckland Domain, is a large park in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the oldest park in the city, and at is one of the largest. Located in the central suburb of Grafton, the park land is the remains o ...

and because parts of the proposed site are privately owned with existing plans. The Government also claimed there was inadequate space to accommodate people leaving the stadium. North Harbour Stadium was also initially dismissed for transport reasons. A further alternative proposal, for a stadium over the eastern part of the Mangere Inlet, failed to gain much publicity.

Estimated cost

The stadium was estimated to cost NZ$497 million by the Government, although it was stated that this figure could have risen, with stadium projects historically having substantial overruns (later quoted in the New Zealand Herald as up to 30% or more). The cost was a source of controversy, with various figures having been quoted by different sources.
Waterfront stadium to cost $900m plus
' - ''

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'', Thursday 16 November 2006 The Government and construction industries sources noted that all costings of large projects are unreliable, and that redevelopment of

also faces uncertainties. The Government proposed that to assist funding, levies on hotels, motels and backpacker lodges might be introduced, along with promotions run by the

New Zealand Lotteries Commission The New Zealand Lotteries Commission, trading as Lotto New Zealand since 2013, is a Crown entity that operates nationwide lotteries in New Zealand. It was established in 1987 and operates under the Gambling Act 2003. Its oldest and most popular ...

Decision process

Differing votes

On 10 November 2006, the New Zealand Government announced its preference for a waterfront stadium to be built over Marsden and Captain Cook wharves. The Government asked the

Auckland City Council Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1871 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elected b ...

and the

Auckland Regional Council The Auckland Regional Council (ARC) was the regional council (one of the former local government authorities) of the Auckland Region. Its predecessor the Auckland Regional Authority (ARA) was formed in 1963 and became the ARC in 1989. The AR ...

to determine which proposal they each preferred, with only the waterfront stadium or a redeveloped Eden Park as options. A two-week consultation of Auckland residents was arranged, and a deadline of 24 November 2006 was set for the Auckland City Council and the Auckland Regional Council to give their respective preference. The deadline was widely criticised as giving insufficient time for consultation, though some commentators defended it as being necessary to move along the process. On 22 November 2006, an injunction was proposed to the High Court in Auckland by five residents of

Auckland City Auckland City was a territorial authority with city status covering the central isthmus of the urban area of Auckland, New Zealand. It was governed by the Auckland City Council from 1989 to 2010, and as a territory within the wider Auckland R ...

against the Waterfront Stadium, stating that enough time was not given for the decision to be made between the Eden Park Stadium and the new Waterfront Stadium. The injunction was rejected an hour before the Auckland City Council met to decide its preference for a venue. The High Court ruled that there would be adequate future opportunities to fight any venue decision. *In a 5-hour meeting on the night of 23 November, the

gave support to the waterfront proposal by a 13–7 vote. However they qualified their assent by wanting the stadium to be "substantially east" of the Marsden Wharf/Captain Cook location preferred by the government, cutting more deeply into port lands, but also keeping views from Britomart unobstructed. *On 24 November, the

unanimously voted against supporting the construction of the stadium at the waterfront (mainly due to its effects on port operations), opting instead to lend their support to an upgrade of Auckland's current rugby venue,

Outcome

On 27 November, the New Zealand Government, taking into consideration the votes of the

and the

and numerous public submissions, decided to drop the Stadium New Zealand proposal in favour of the redevelopment of

. Cabinet asked that more work be done on the design, funding and governance of Eden Park and that North Harbour Stadium be considered as a reserve option.