Council briefed on progress of Stadium rebuild

The Chairman of the Southland Indoor Leisure Centre Charitable Trust Acton Smith today briefed the Mayor, City Councillors and senior staff on the progress of plans to reinstate Stadium Southland that was damaged by heavy snow seven weeks ago.


Mr Smith and his advisors this afternoon spent two hours at a meeting with the Council, chaired by Deputy Mayor Jackie Kruger, to outline progress to date and brief them on the expected timeline and other issues. These included minor variations to the Stadium’s footprint that would assist in a quicker rebuild and modifications to provide for a more secure roofline that would be three times stronger than the previous roof.


“The main focus over the past seven weeks has been working closely with the Stadium’s insurers to get a clear picture of how we proceed. The key objective is to reinstate the main events courts and community courts, which are the centre of the Stadium operation. It is imperative that this get underway as soon as possible, to minimise the time that the Stadium is closed.


“We hope to let tenders for contracts in January-February 2011 and for construction to start around March. The aim is to have the Stadium reopen in March 2012.”


Mr Smith said that there was community consultation underway with users and the disability sector about reinstatement of the Stadium facility and then there would be ongoing consultation about other features that people would like to see included at the Stadium. However, he cautioned that the rebuild was largely dependent on funding from the Stadium’s insurers and was not a matter of an unlimited wish-list.


“There is no blank cheque. It is a matter of the insurance company funding the replacement. It is our job to build on the lessons we have learned in running the Stadium over the past ten years and work smarter in the ways we undertake the replacement of what we have lost.”


However, he said that the Council provided $500,000 a year towards operating Stadium Southland and the Leisure Centre Charitable Trust would be approaching Council to allow it to use these funds to help pay for enhanced facilities in the Stadium, including extra seating, electronic scoreboards, better acoustics and lighting.


Mr Smith said the briefing to the Invercargill City Council was the first of several he would be having with the Stadium’s funding partners.


“The Stadium has four key funding partners that are highly valued and critical to its success and its ability to operate. They are the Invercargill City Council, the Invercargill Licensing Trust, the Community Trust of Southland and the Southland District Council.”


Mayor Tim Shadbolt said it was vital that Council was kept up to date with plans to rebuild the Stadium and he hoped today’s briefing would be the first in a series to the Council.


“Acton and his team were very upfront and clear with us. The process is still at the early stage of carefully working through the insurance issues and laying the groundwork for the enormous challenge ahead. He has also promised to keep Council and the people of Southland well informed as we work towards rebuilding Stadium Southland,” Mr Shadbolt said.