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Auckland’s central-city Viaduct Harbour is one of five sites being considered as the possible location for a 20,000-seat temporary stadium, which organisers believe could be built in time to host major sports events next year.
The consortium advocating for a temporary stadium argue it would allow the city’s leaders thenecessary time to consolidate long-term plans for a major stadium in the city, which could include extensive renovations of Eden Park, demolishing and developing other sites (such as Mt Smart Stadium or North Harbour Stadium) to raise capital or building a new permanent venue from scratch.
It is thought five different sites are being considered for the temporary stadium, with three of them on the waterfront, including one at the end of Wynyard Point, near the site of Team New Zealand’s boatshed from the last America’s Cup.
The group behind the proposal have their own funding and would not require financial support from central or local government to build the venue. However, it’s understood they would need the council to provide the land for the site.
It is understood the backers of the temporary venue have told city leaders it could be constructed within six months, meaning it would be ready to host the first match of Auckland’s new A-League team in October 2024.
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The temporary stadium consortium would also need support from the Warriors and Blues, with league, rugby and football the cornerstone codes for the ground. It’s understood further non-sporting events would be required to make the site viable.
The team behind the proposal includes Karl Budge, the former tournament director of the ASB Classic, who went on to become the Asia-Pacific Commercial Director and Head of Event Development for Russell Coutts’ SailGP series.
The stadium would be built using modular construction, meaning entire stands could be shifted and used at other sites, then brought in and added to the stadium for bigger crowds.
Simon Bridges, chief executive of the Auckland Business Chamber, welcomed the latest contribution to the city’s stadium debate.
“Auckland needs events, and events need stadiums.
“Auckland also needs happy workers: people have the choice of heading off to Sydney – or Saudi for that matter – so anything we can do to bring life and activity to the city is crucial.
“The key thing will be to make sure the interim solution – a temporary stadium – doesn’t become the permanent solution.”
Stadium 974 for World Cup Qatar 2022 was primarily built using 974 repurposed shipping containers. Photo / Getty Images
Ahead of last year’s men’s Fifa World Cup football tournament, hosts Qatar constructed a temporary venue, called Stadium 974, which was made from 974 recycled shipping containers.
The Qatar venue, which hosted seven matches in the tournament, was designed by Fenwick Iribarren Architects in such a way it can be readily dismantled and reassembled elsewhere. It received a four-star rating from the Global Sustainability Assessment System.
