Government says it will fast-track stadium work

The Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration has announced the Government will fast-track detailed work on the shape and cost of Christchurch’s new stadium.

Fencing around the site of the metro sports facility gives a hint of what's planned.

The work will be done as part of the Government's commitment to speeding up the delivery of the sporting anchor projects in the central city.

Two major sporting facilities were included as anchor projects in the Christchurch Central Recovery Plan - a metro sports facility (MSF) and a stadium.

In November last year, the new Minster for Greater Christchurch Regeneration Dr Megan Woods ordered an urgent review of plans for the MSF after revealing the anchor project was likely to exceed its budget by $75 million.

She tasked officials with fixing the budget blowout and delivering a credible timeline for the completion of the MSF.  

She also asked them to investigate whether there might be benefits to co-locating elements of the MSF and the stadium.

"I'd asked for an initial stop-gate report to see whether the budget blowout could be easily fixed and whether it was worth investigating co-location in more detail. After receiving that report, it's clear more work is needed,'' the Minister said in a statement released this afternoon.

"Ōtākaro have also advised me that the design work on the current plan for the MSF has been virtually completed. However, the projected costings are still tens of millions of dollars above the allocated funding.

"With one facility still over budget and the other without a budget even set, it is clear to me that we can't make decisions about these projects in isolation,'' Dr Woods said.

"I am determined we speed up progress and deliver the high quality facilities Cantabrians deserve. To that end, I have instructed officials to work with Council and local experts on fast-tracking detailed work on the shape and cost of the stadium that can be turned into a completed business case.

"At that point we will be able to make informed decisions about the shape and budget of both facilities. This work will be completed on the March/April timeline laid out in November. This means there is no delay taking a closer look at options while this work progresses,'' Dr Woods said.