General Warriors To Save Eden Park?

[Lord Gnome of Howick MBE]

League fans are being asked to bail out Eden Park, which is cash-strapped and weighed down by debt in the wake of the Rugby World Cup's euphoria.
The cup's legacy is a 50,000-seat stadium $55 million in debt and struggling to break even and the plan is to move the Warriors from Mt Smart Stadium to Eden Park.
Based on this year's figures, about 96,000 league fans could pour through the gates for eight home games at Eden Park from 2014.
The proposed move is part of a review of Auckland stadiums that focuses strongly on saving money and pays little attention to the effect on the sporting codes and their fans.
A "strategic direction" for the city's big stadiums proposes that Eden Park becomes the primary venue for rugby, league, one-day and 20/20 cricket matches.
Other pieces of the jigsaw involve moving speedway to Mt Smart Stadium to free up Western Springs for test cricket.
Mt Smart Stadium would be used as a training base for league, a high-performance centre and remain the home of athletics.
North Harbour Stadium - which got a $1 million ratepayer subsidy in the past year - would continue to be used by North Harbour Rugby, New Zealand Soccer and for local uses.
Warriors patriarch Sir Peter Leitch said the fans were happy with Mt Smart Stadium and a move to Eden Park with the 50,000-seat capacity ground three-quarters or half empty would create a horrible atmosphere.
"When you think of Eden Park you think rugby union. Think Mt Smart Stadium and you think rugby league. That's the reality," Sir Peter said.
He said the council, which found $10 million for the V8 Supercars, only needed to spend a bit of money to upgrade Mt Smart Stadium.
Warriors chief executive Wayne Scurrah has expressed similar concerns to the Herald on Sunday, saying league fans struggled to create an atmosphere at Eden Park.
A lack of atmosphere with small crowds at midweek matches for the ITM competition is one reason Auckland Rugby is exploring the possibility of moving one match from Eden Park to Trusts Stadium at Henderson next year.
A report going to the council today says moving the Warriors to Eden Park offsets the needs to spend up to $60 million upgrading Mt Smart Stadium and helps the "lack of financial sustainability" at Eden Park.
Integrating the management and operations of the stadiums is one cost-saving option, but no firm work has been done on the likely savings.
The overall plan is expected to reduce council funding requirements, create opportunities for Eden Park to pay down debts of $55 million and strengthen the overall financial position of the region's stadiums.
Of this debt, Auckland ratepayers underwrote the final $40 million of the $256 million upgrade for the Rugby World Cup and are owed $6.5 million from an earlier loan.
Council officers - who warned at the time of the $40 million underwrite in 2010 that the trust board's business plan might not work and posed significant risk - said Eden Park was only managing to break even and faced difficult choices to meet its financial obligations.
Eden Park chief executive David Kennedy said the park was able to run the stadium, pay rates and pay interest on the debt, but could not generate enough money to pay down the debt or fund future investment.
One option is to tear up the number two ground and turn it into a bus interchange, taxi ranks, carparks or develop it for residential or commercial use.
This option, however, is at odds with Auckland Cricket, which uses the number two ground for domestic cricket and is holding the first test match in Auckland since 2004 between the Black Caps and England next year inside the main Eden Park stadium.
Auckland Cricket chief executive Mark Cameron said the sport was happy at Eden Park - "it has been our home and history for over 100 years" - and was set to resume domestic cricket after the reinstatement of the number two ground.
"We are not seeking to relocate from Eden Park."

From today's Herald.

 

[Est95]

No thanks...

 

[Rizzah]

It may end up the Warriors will have to buy Mt Smart to stay?
Couldn't the council force the Warriors to Eden Park, by not renewing their agreement at mt smart whenever it comes up for extension?

 

[mrblonde]

Mt Smart's a pit, but when it's got a good crowd - 15,000 plus - it's a pit with good atmosphere. And it's close to the action.

Eden Park's a "nicer", newer looking stadium, but with that same 15,000 plus it's a "nicer", newer looking stadium with poor atmosphere. And it's not close to the action.

I'd only sanction Eden Park if anyone had the nerve to make Eden Park exlusively an oval ball code stadium. And that won't ever ever blimmin' ever happen.

 

[mode81]

Why didn't they (Auckland city council) just think more futuristic ,innovative , modern and build a Waterfront Stadium all those years ago?

Old men's club getting their ways not thinking for the city just old school mindsets bowing to the pressures of the moaning pogies brigade.

Eden Park could have been kept but ground capacity lowered after the World Cup if union fans wanted it that way now we're left with this big elephant park! Capacity is 60'000 with only 6'000 people to watch an Auckland provincial game ffs durr who didn't see that coming, 20'000/25'000 seat capacity is manageable like Waikato Stadium or Dunedin Stadium but nooo!!! history is more significant we'd rather keep a big old stadium that looks like a ghost town serves them right.

Always thought a multi purpose venue should have been built near the city for the Rugby World Cup instead of investing in old run down grounds like Eden Park,Mt Smart and Western Springs. After the RWC it could have been used for all sports,recreation activities League, Cricket, Soccer, Union probably even Speedway racing! Benefits by being closer to the city, Vector Arena, The Cloud etc far outweighed all the negatives now bills bills bills and now V8's racing?!!. You want Hamilton's hot air balloons too Auckland haha?

 

[Pozza]

If we have another crook season Massey Park, Mangere East is maybe all we'll need LOL

 

[ramraider78]

Who the F#%* wants to go to Eden park? That place has rugby written all over it, what favours has the council done for us? League grounds around Auckland are no where near the top condition union grounds are kept in and I've played a at a few.

To save the council we scarifice our identity because they didn't have the forsight to see they built a white elephant, BS IMO

Hope the club fights this tooth and nail and TBH I'll follow the club no matter what and whoever coaches us, but we move to Eden park, I won't renew my membership. I couldn't give toss how the playing field looks at Eden park, council been pulling this BS last few years even in the local game, trying to get clubs into a multi sports centre to save money and control the grounds better.

 

[Spence]

I wasn't around at the time, but how opposed (or for) were you all when we moved to Mt Smart?

 

[mode81]

I was against the move to Penrose and Mt Smart at the time because I lived in Grafton near Auckland hospital and we always walked to Carlaw Park for all the league whether it was Fox,Kiwis or Auckland that was my main gripe but eventually got over it. To me Carlaw Park was the heart and soul ground of NZ league, an unmatched place for vibe and atmosphere being so close to the ground, the coved embankment and main grandstand which gave off a concert like sound would have been deafning for the players. Mt Smart is almost like Carlaw Park stage though, just tired and in need of a serious upgrade or complete demolition.

 

[mt.wellington]

I was against the move to Penrose and Mt Smart at the time because I lived in Grafton near Auckland hospital and we always walked to Carlaw Park for all the league whether it was Fox,Kiwis or Auckland that was my main gripe but eventually got over it. To me Carlaw Park was the heart and soul ground of NZ league, an unmatched place for vibe and atmosphere being so close to the ground, the coved embankment and main grandstand which gave off a concert like sound would have been deafning for the players. Mt Smart is almost like Carlaw Park stage though, just tired and in need of a serious upgrade or complete demolition.

If some people think Mt. Smart was a pit then Im glad we're not playing at Carlaw anymore!

 

[eamon]

League fans are being asked to bail out Eden Park, which is cash-strapped and weighed down by debt in the wake of the Rugby World Cup's euphoria.
The cup's legacy is a 50,000-seat stadium $55 million in debt and struggling to break even and the plan is to move the Warriors from Mt Smart Stadium to Eden Park.
Based on this year's figures, about 96,000 league fans could pour through the gates for eight home games at Eden Park from 2014.
The proposed move is part of a review of Auckland stadiums that focuses strongly on saving money and pays little attention to the effect on the sporting codes and their fans.
A "strategic direction" for the city's big stadiums proposes that Eden Park becomes the primary venue for rugby, league, one-day and 20/20 cricket matches.
Other pieces of the jigsaw involve moving speedway to Mt Smart Stadium to free up Western Springs for test cricket.
Mt Smart Stadium would be used as a training base for league, a high-performance centre and remain the home of athletics.
North Harbour Stadium - which got a $1 million ratepayer subsidy in the past year - would continue to be used by North Harbour Rugby, New Zealand Soccer and for local uses.
Warriors patriarch Sir Peter Leitch said the fans were happy with Mt Smart Stadium and a move to Eden Park with the 50,000-seat capacity ground three-quarters or half empty would create a horrible atmosphere.
"When you think of Eden Park you think rugby union. Think Mt Smart Stadium and you think rugby league. That's the reality," Sir Peter said.
He said the council, which found $10 million for the V8 Supercars, only needed to spend a bit of money to upgrade Mt Smart Stadium.
Warriors chief executive Wayne Scurrah has expressed similar concerns to the Herald on Sunday, saying league fans struggled to create an atmosphere at Eden Park.
A lack of atmosphere with small crowds at midweek matches for the ITM competition is one reason Auckland Rugby is exploring the possibility of moving one match from Eden Park to Trusts Stadium at Henderson next year.
A report going to the council today says moving the Warriors to Eden Park offsets the needs to spend up to $60 million upgrading Mt Smart Stadium and helps the "lack of financial sustainability" at Eden Park.
Integrating the management and operations of the stadiums is one cost-saving option, but no firm work has been done on the likely savings.
The overall plan is expected to reduce council funding requirements, create opportunities for Eden Park to pay down debts of $55 million and strengthen the overall financial position of the region's stadiums.
Of this debt, Auckland ratepayers underwrote the final $40 million of the $256 million upgrade for the Rugby World Cup and are owed $6.5 million from an earlier loan.
Council officers - who warned at the time of the $40 million underwrite in 2010 that the trust board's business plan might not work and posed significant risk - said Eden Park was only managing to break even and faced difficult choices to meet its financial obligations.
Eden Park chief executive David Kennedy said the park was able to run the stadium, pay rates and pay interest on the debt, but could not generate enough money to pay down the debt or fund future investment.
One option is to tear up the number two ground and turn it into a bus interchange, taxi ranks, carparks or develop it for residential or commercial use.
This option, however, is at odds with Auckland Cricket, which uses the number two ground for domestic cricket and is holding the first test match in Auckland since 2004 between the Black Caps and England next year inside the main Eden Park stadium.
Auckland Cricket chief executive Mark Cameron said the sport was happy at Eden Park - "it has been our home and history for over 100 years" - and was set to resume domestic cricket after the reinstatement of the number two ground.
"We are not seeking to relocate from Eden Park."

From today's Herald.

North Harbour stadium has got to be the most under supported of the major stadiums in the country. NZ Soccer is thinking seriously about moving from there after the sham the last time they played there in front of about 2000 people, which is a fairly average crowd there.
A move by the warriors to Mt Eden would be awful, and shows the strength of rugby union waning, when they need a league franchise to prop them up

Move them to WestpacTrust Stadium in Wellington. Why must they be Auckland based

 

[mrblonde]

Do you think they'll get enough consistant support in Wellington?

11,000 average isn't great, I admit, but can any other city match or better that?

 

[eamon]

Do you think they'll get enough consistant support in Wellington?

11,000 average isn't great, I admit, but can any other city match or better that?

Wellington, I think, is a bit of the NZ version of Melbourne. they'll go to anything. the Phoenix is evidence of that, even when not performing well. Auckland (with the possible exception of warrior support at Mt Smart) are very fickle supporters, as evidenced by soccer crowds (I use the word crowds advisedly), ARU and super(?) rugby crowds when those teams aren't performing. I think though, the warrior support will be seriously harmed with a move to Eden park

 

[mode81]

If some people think Mt. Smart was a pit then Im glad we're not playing at Carlaw anymore!

Mt Smart has grown on me over the years seen many memorable moments too but I'll always treasure Carlaw Park. From Auckland beating Oz ..Bulldogs V Broncos..Knights V Manly..before Mt Smart and regular NRL action Carlaw Park was the ground where I saw all the Winfield Cup stars of that era and I only had to walk to the ground.

 

[Moz]

I feel like I dont really have a right to comment as Im not living in Auckland anymore or the country but 5 years ago when I was there I would have been pissed at this the Warriors will always be the step child at Eden park.

Also as previously mentioned on here watching a game at Eden Park your too far from the action, detached from it, we have our own issues at the club without picking up the tab for the world cup what a cheek

 

[Inruin]

Apparently there is 6 years still to run on the lease at Mt Smart. Also, can see us getting shunted around to make way for clashes in timings with super rugby, test matches etc. I don't get it? cricket to western springs, speedway to mt smart, warriors to eden park. dont you still have the same three venues being used by the same codes?

 

[mt.wellington]

Apparently there is 6 years still to run on the lease at Mt Smart. Also, can see us getting shunted around to make way for clashes in timings with super rugby, test matches etc. I don't get it? cricket to western springs, speedway to mt smart, warriors to eden park. dont you still have the same three venues being used by the same codes?

Second half of this article talks about the Warriors playing one game at Eden Park then the rest at Mt. Smart. Just like this season I think.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10836865

I barely remember Carlaw Park except for the few games I played at the halftime of the curtain raiser as a wee child and a couple games I went to as a preteen. What I do remember was how dilapidated the facilities were. Wooden plank seating, flaky paint and the type of old concrete toilets that have you thinking you've just walked into a scene of a horror movie! My dad however has never forgotten the place and to this day still rues the decision to destroy the soul of New Zealand Rugby League at the time. Sadly there was never going to be enough room to build a real stadium and it would have been far too expensive for a rugby idolising nation to swallow. Mt. Smart was being under used and the original seating was built for the 1990 Commonwealth games. For more read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Smart_Stadium

For me, I've always loved Mt. Smart and will always remember with a warm heart the night of March 10th 1995 when the Warriors played their debut game against the Broncos. I have missed only a handful of games since then and feel at home at the stadium like a best mates house. I love the vibe and atmosphere of the place when the boys are doing well. I have memories, to many to list, that I will always cherish from that place. It helps that Ive always lived a 4 minute drive from the place too I suppose!

The seating at Eden park can be terrible. Went with my kids to the last Anzac game and the view from the family zone sucked bigtime. I do like the public transport arrangement (bar the RWC 20011!) and have never really had a problem with it but Im still all for Mt. Smart. While Ive touched on that topic though, thats one major thing that the Warriors can do is improve the public transport to the stadium.

As for Eamon suggesting Wellington, hahaha, piss off! Theyre right were they need to be, where the biggest fan base is. If your lucky though, they might throw a pre-season game your way hahaha. Besides, they have a shit record there. I must admit, the Cake Tin is the best stadium Ive ever watched a game in, but still, piss off!

 

[Timothy]

If we have another crook season Massey Park, Mangere East is maybe all we'll need LOL

That wouldn't be to bad, it's a lot closer to KFC.

 

[Timothy]

Yep Eden Park is the way to go, all we need to do is make sure we get a decent team to put out there. People follow winners, if the warriors can start doing some of that you will find potentially an average in excess of 20,000 will turn up to Eden Park. And seriously who here is going to go and beg the city council for Eden park if the warriors fin 1st or 2nd next year and potentially have two playoff games at home or are you all just willing to hope you can secure tickets. More people will attend games if the location is more central. I stay in Papatoetoe and Eden Park via Train is better for me than Mt Smart by car and then a 1km walk. Also the NRL had said previously that if we moved to Eden Park we may get a couple of Double Header games(im guessing either Bulldogs, Manly or Brisbane would be one of the other teams to play). Only prob with Eden Park is their extremely high Food & Alcohol prices(hello the world cup is over).

 

[Timothy]

Second half of this article talks about the Warriors playing one game at Eden Park then the rest at Mt. Smart. Just like this season I think.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10836865

I barely remember Carlaw Park except for the few games I played at the halftime of the curtain raiser as a wee child and a couple games I went to as a preteen. What I do remember was how dilapidated the facilities were. Wooden plank seating, flaky paint and the type of old concrete toilets that have you thinking you've just walked into a scene of a horror movie! My dad however has never forgotten the place and to this day still rues the decision to destroy the soul of New Zealand Rugby League at the time. Sadly there was never going to be enough room to build a real stadium and it would have been far too expensive for a rugby idolising nation to swallow. Mt. Smart was being under used and the original seating was built for the 1990 Commonwealth games. For more read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Smart_Stadium

For me, I've always loved Mt. Smart and will always remember with a warm heart the night of March 10th 1995 when the Warriors played their debut game against the Broncos. I have missed only a handful of games since then and feel at home at the stadium like a best mates house. I love the vibe and atmosphere of the place when the boys are doing well. I have memories, to many to list, that I will always cherish from that place. It helps that Ive always lived a 4 minute drive from the place too I suppose!

The seating at Eden park can be terrible. Went with my kids to the last Anzac game and the view from the family zone sucked bigtime. I do like the public transport arrangement (bar the RWC 20011!) and have never really had a problem with it but Im still all for Mt. Smart. While Ive touched on that topic though, thats one major thing that the Warriors can do is improve the public transport to the stadium.

As for Eamon suggesting Wellington, hahaha, piss off! Theyre right were they need to be, where the biggest fan base is. If your lucky though, they might throw a pre-season game your way hahaha. Besides, they have a shit record there. I must admit, the Cake Tin is the best stadium Ive ever watched a game in, but still, piss off!

Yeh no way, Wellington suX. But hands down Suncorp is the best stadium to watch footy it goes up instead of back if you catch my drift and was only made for rectanguar field sports.