The conference space has the potential to seat approximately 2000 people. Nowhere in Dunedin can a conference this size be hosted.
Corporate Events
The corporate lounges and suites could be used as space for seminars, conferences and day meetings.
Event revenue at Westpac Stadium was 99% ahead of the preconstruction predictions and there were 720 private cocktail parties, weddings or corporate functions compared to the prediction of 140.
National Events
Dunedin misses out on national events like the Halberg Awards and the Tourism Awards simply because we cannot seat and feed the size of audience these events attract.
Cultural Events
How many years has it been since a major international concert came to Dunedin? Concerts and major entertainment events, community events, wine and food festivals, gatherings and exhibitions – the list of potential cultural events is endless.
Flexible Spaces
The stadium is more than just the pitch. There are flexible spaces at either end which are under the roof – space for climbing walls and children’s indoor play area and/or crèche, and when the demand is there for an event we simply bring in the temporary seating to increase capacity.
Other spaces within the stadium could be used as a high performance centre for elite sport research and fitness, research facilities for health related activities, physiotherapy areas, and other leisure and recreational activities.
Plaza Area
The plaza area will become a hub of activity all day every day, particularly with the students and will flow through into cafès and bars.
Buses will connect the stadium with the University and the Octagon.
A University Campus
Dunedin is the unrivalled student city of New Zealand. 25,000 staff and students generate a billion dollars of value for the region and education anchors the local economy. Each student’s worth approximately $60,000 a year in benefit to local people. Rates come from their rents. They ensure business is booming in fast food outlets, bars, supermarkets, second-hand shops and clothing stores.
The Stadium will be another pull factor to attract students to study at Otago. Over 80% of students come from outside of Dunedin and almost 70% are from outside Otago-Southland. Students indirectly pay rates through their landlords and they keep industries such as supermarkets, fast food outlets and bars busy almost all year round.
A campus stadium would enable the university to build on its already strong base of sports medicine and elite sporting performance, science and research and attract new students wanting to specialise in these areas.
The university has won its national and international reputation through hard work, innovation and vision. The campus stadium can become an extension of this very successful business and marketing rationale.
Integrating the university into a multi-purpose, multi-use fully covered stadium that could work for its living day and night, seven days a week is an innovative and forward thinking option that will work for everyone in the region.
Rugby
It will be New Zealand’s leading stadium for atmosphere. No other ground will get its fans so close to the pitch and the roof will magnify its reputation as the House of Pain. It will seat approximately 30,000.
When you get inside a modern stadium you are immediately out of the wind or rain and you will walk past quality food and beverage outlets and merchandise stands on the way to your seat. There will be plenty of clean toilets that make modern grounds user-friendly.
Already Dunedin has lost All Black test matches and we have only got a test for 2008 due to the progress on the new stadium. If Carisbrook was upgraded it may get a test match once every few years if we’re lucky. The key issue, though, is the very real chance that Otago would not have a Super 14 franchise beyond 2010.The ORFU would cut its cloth to suit and the days of major sporting events in Dunedin could well be over.
The Westpac Stadium, against all pre-construction financial predictions, smashed attendance records right from its first public open day when 42,000 flocked through. Wellington went on to set the Super Rugby competition and NPC average game attendance records at 33,000 and 30,000 for each competition.
While it is true that rugby will be the main tenant with international test matches being played once a year and Super 14 secure, the new stadium with its roof caters for much more than rugby.
Other Sporting Events
Other sporting events such as football, league, tennis, basketball (four courts), equestrian, softball and various other activities are all possible.
It could also be used for events such as the Masters Games or the Crusty Demons.
School sports events can be held regardless of the weather.
It has the capacity to hold a competitive swimming pool or an ice skating rink. |
