LIOT Part V: Stadium
The Government seems to be more willing to spend taxpayer money on White Elephants like a "National" Stadium in Auckland than concentrating on making the country better for the people who live here.
The so-called "National" stadium will not be used and is more Labour trying to build a monument to their time in power than giving any benefit to the country. If Labour really cared about the people they would be spending the money they want to waste on this stadium on Healthcare education or even to stop this disgusting spiral of violence that is currently prevalent in our society.
Did anyone else know that it would be cheaper for Labour to fly 80,000 people to Sydney to watch the World Cup Final than it would be for them to build this stadium, now that is ridiculous in itself. Labour has continued with building on their ideas and not bringing about policies that will better the country, but what more could we expect from a group that use taxpayers money to get themselves reelected??
2 comments:
The decision to try and host a Rugby World Cup on our own was a shocker in the first place - if we couldn't co-host in 2003, how are we going to handle being sole hosts in 2011? I can understand the thinking - the way RWCs are going, NZ will not be able to afford it in 10 or 15 years time, so why not give it a crack now? However, it's ridiculous that they don't seem to have had a plan for a stadium in which to host the final when they made the original bid! How did they manage to gloss that one over? "Oh yeah bro, the final? Yeah, we'll sort that one out aye. Nah nah, it's sweet bro. Hey look over there! (Runs away)". I don't believe that New Zealand is capable of hosting this tournament - however I will not complain if I am proven wrong.
The way New Zealand works, there'll be a few months of polls and television debates/interviews, a comittee formed to debate stadium options, an independant inquiry into the various stadium options, legal challenges, another enquiry as a result of said legal challenges, legal action by the Auckland Regional Council and the Ports Authority as the Government starts pushing for the Waterfront option, legal action from residents living around Eden Park as the Government announces it may pursue the Eden Park route after all, another inquiry into the complaints raised, an investigation into the effectiveness of all the inquiries undertaken so far, an inquiry into the effectiveness of the investigation (which will cause a public uproar, as it ends up costing $15 million of taxpayer money, one million of which is spent on the logo and font selection of the cover page of the final report). By this point, it is 2010, and the Rugby World Cup is just 12 months away.
I have my doubts that even if they do manage to avoid the scenario described above that a stadium could be built from scratch in time for the Rugby World Cup in 2011. And even if it is, it will rank among the biggest wastes of money in the history of our nation. How often are you going to sell out a 60000 seat stadium in New Zealand? A Bledisloe Cup match may do it (One possibility that may get considered is that ALL major All Blacks games get played in Auckland, just to help the 'National' stadium break even. You'd hope not, but with the commercial nature of the game nowadays, it could happen!), but chances are, after the RWC final in 2011, you'd get maybe one full house each year. Basically (assuming they do go with the proposal put forward), Auckland will be stuck with a gigantic money sucking bed pan for all eternity.
Simple solution that would benefit two nations - host the final in Sydney. Stadium Australia needs a big game - since the 2000 Olympics it has lost a truckload of money (so much so that the Stadium Australia group had to pretty much gift the ground to ANZ, since they owed about 140 million...). At least Australia has trans-tasman rugby AND State of Origin (possibly the only other sporting event that so many Aussies would go and see) - what does New Zealand have? The Football Kingz? The Warriors?
Matt
National Stadium 1,
Eden Park 2 *FINAL*
Well, as will be obvious from the yahooing Aucklanders and a very, very sullen Trevor Mallard - the National Stadium has been sent packing. Sounds like it will cost about half of what the National Stadium was going to cost, so that has to be for the best (still going to cost a truckload, and the cost will skyrocket, I'm sure, but whatever they spend on Eden Park will still be hundreds of millions less than the spending that would have taken place with the 'bedpan'). Now they just have to placate pretty much anyone living within a few kilometres of Eden Park...And get cracking on upgrading it!
- Matt M
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