Lancaster Park seats booked for removal

Work has begun on removing Lancaster Park stadium’s seats ahead of its deconstruction later this year.

Ceres NZ has been appointed to salvage the seats and it is expected to take until the end of September to remove them. Christchurch City Council approved the deconstruction of the earthquake-damaged stadium earlier this year. The aim was to salvage or recycle as much of the material as possible.

Around 21,500 of the stadium’s 30,000 seats ahead are expected to be rehoused elsewhere. In June, community and sporting groups and individuals were invited to outline in writing what they wanted from the stadium before deconstruction begins in December. Seats were the most requested item. 

The salvage operation of more than 21,000 seats from Lancaster Park has begun.

“We’ve now contacted all those who asked for seats to let them know that their request can be met,” said Darren Burden, General Manager of Vbase, the venue management company that owns the stadium. “We’ll be back in contact with groups once the salvaging is complete to organise pick up of seats.”

Groups and individuals will be charged $10 per seat, which covers the costs associated with their removal.

“We’re looking to keep the cost of deconstruction down as much as possible so we need to recover the costs of removing the seats from the stadium as a minimum,” Mr Burden said.

As well as seats, community and sporting groups have also requested other items from the stadium, including rugby gear, lighting tower heads, roller doors, display cabinets, showers and toilets. Removal of these other items is expected to begin in October. Community and sporting groups who have asked for these items will be contacted over the coming months.

“Offering community and sporting groups the chance to acquire parts of the stadium has reiterated to us the special place Lancaster Park holds in many people’s hearts,” Mr Burden said.

“While its deconstruction will clearly be an emotional time for many, we’re pleased that sporting and community groups from across Canterbury and New Zealand wish to see parts of the stadium live on by putting them to good use.”

The deconstruction of Lancaster Park stadium is expected to begin in December this year and will take 12 to 14 months to complete.