Mar 31

March 2024: Local Board Member Report

North Harbour Stadium
March in photos

North Harbour Stadium

During March Auckland Council was consulting on its Long-Term Plan (LTP). This is the Council's 10-year budget-setting process which includes some hefty proposals to combat significant budget challenges.

One proposal in the LTP had some options around the future of the North Harbour Stadium. The future of North Harbour Stadium has been a hot topic over the last few months. Tataki Auckland Unlimited (TAU) are the Council-Controlled Organisation (CCO) that manages most of the stadia around Auckland. Late last year they took a paper to Auckland Council's Governing Body (Mayor and Councillors) proposing to sell North Harbour Stadium to fund other stadia. This turned around given strong feedback opposing that proposal and TAU then gave a commitment to stakeholders that the would not look to demolish North Harbour Stadium. This turned around again to what went out for public consultation in the LTP. The LTP gave the public three options to choose from which were:

Maintain the status quo and invest in essential renewals of $33 million over 10 years.
Redevelop (which could include deconstruction of the existing stadium) the precinct to better deliver for the needs of the North Shore community and the greater Auckland region, funded through the reallocation of the $33 million renewal funding for the precinct, the sale of some precinct land while retaining the existing community playing fields, and any other external.
Change the operational management of North Harbour Stadium to ensure greater use by the community.

TAU were advocating (inappropriately in my opinion) for option 2 and very keen to work with stakeholders on 'redeveloping the stadium', unfortunately, there is a complete lack of trust that this would actually happen and option 2 gives them the flexibility to demolish the stadium and sell land (what land or how much in the precinct we have no idea).

Our Local Board has been very clear that we do not support any proposals of demolition and we will have the opportunity to give feedback to the LTP formally very soon. Options 1 and 3 are the only possible options I see as being appropriate given the complete lack of information, analysis and the loopholes and risks in option 2.

I have found it astounding that professional sporting groups desperately wanting to play games at TAU have apparently been told 'no' and that they are only able to train there. I believe North Harbour Stadium has been deliberately run down over time. The biggest issue with the stadium in why hirers won't touch it, is that a whole section of seating (a literal hole in the stadium) was removed for a failed baseball venture and hasn't been repaired and reset.

North Harbour Stadium was funded and built on the backs of our community. Volunteers spent four years selling seats and trees around the precinct and getting sponsorship to build this facility for the North Shore. It was well-used and successfull until it was taken over by Regional Facilities Auckland (the predecessor to TAU). The stadium is now under-utilised despite professional sports groups wanting to use it for games but being told no by TAU or unable to because of the seating hole that hasn't been fixed. The prices are extortionate to hire it for private functions.

There's no doubt that the stadium needs a really good, well-thought out overhaul in how it is managed and used. I have more trust in a new operational management trust to do this that the current situaiton. I have a lack of faith in TAU following their flip-flopping and underlying desire to rid North harbour Stadium from their network - especially after their blitz in the media to try to sway public opinion in their favour.

Letter to Auckland Council CE and Mayor on TAU and North Harbour Stadium

In March I wrote to Auckland Council CE and Mayor outlining our concerns about the way TAU have acted within the public consultation period. These concerns were mimicked in letters by the Upper Harbour Local Board and Albany Ward councillors.

Dear Phil Wilson and Mayor Wayne Brown

I am writing to you today as the incoming Chair of the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board and also on behalf of the current Chair Gary Brown. We are deeply concerned about the inappropriate behaviour of Tataki Auckland Unlimited Chief Executive, Board Chair and Deputy Chair during the Long Term Plan consultation process and we are asking for you to investigate the situation as soon as possible and detail what response and consequences you deem necessary as a result.

On 28 February 2024 TAU CE Nick Hill was quoted several times in a Stuff article ‘Public to decide future of North Harbour Stadium, proposal to rebuild it for community sports’. We are concerned that is in unprofessional behaviour for a CCO CE to provide comments to media during a consultation process, particularly when some of those comments are very misleading and clearly advocating for one of the three outcomes proposed in the LTP for the public to provide feedback on. We are aware that the Upper Harbour Local Board have written to you at length about this on 7 March 2024, and we very much look forward to seeing the response.

Following that article, we were astonished to see the Deputy Chair of the TAU Board, Jenna Wootton, providing commentary to another Stuff article on 12 March 2024 ‘Leave alone or rebuild: How a redesigned North Harbour Stadium might look’. She was quoted referencing early discussions and favourable options of a few people who attended their Advisory Group (which has since been disestablished during the consultation process given that it is inappropriate to progress one of three options during a consultation process). Again, we are concerned that this to be improper behaviour from a CCO governor in the middle of a public consultation process.

Today, 13 March 2024, we were extremely disappointed to see what we deem to be further unprofessional behaviour that is undermining the consultation process in an opinion article by TAU Chair Vicky Salmon in the NZHearld ‘They built it, but nobody comes any more – Vicky Salmon’. In it, she explicitly advocates for option two that is out for consultation at the moment “TAU believes option two could create an amazing legacy for Auckland’s future generations and we believe it makes no financial sense I tough economic times to spend tens of millions to maintain an often-empty stadium that works for almost nobody”. Advocacy like this from a CCO Board Chair during a public consultation process completely undermines the democratic process.

So far into the consultation process, we find that the above actions of TAU have unduly influenced the consultation. The integrity of the process has been undermined by the CE and governors of TAU. We would like to formally ask, with urgency, that you investigate the above-mentioned activities and provide us with a response as to whether you deem this appropriate behaviour from a CCO, whether it breaches any code of conducts for TAU, and how you will be responding to the situation.

We would like to close by acknowledging the action taken recently (following complaints from Albany Ward Councillors John Watson and Wayne Walker, and the Upper Harbour Local Board) with the TAU Advisory Group being disestablished for the remainder of the consultation process. Thank you for any assistance provided here to uphold the integrity of the consultation process.We look forward to hearing from your shortly and are more than happy to discuss this with you further if you wish.

Alexis Poppelbaum

Hibiscus and Bays Local Board Member

M: 021 197 2878 l Fb: AlexisPoppelbaumECB

Gary Brown

Chairman Hibiscus and Bays Local Board

Ph 09 301 0101 | 021 193 2167

Auckland Council, Level 1, 2 Glen Road Browns Bay

Visit our website: www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

If the matter is urgent please contact 09 301 0101 or enquiries@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz