Dunedin’s stadium, far from being “world-class”, may be overshadowed by a stadium in Christchurch that will also be covered. Shame. It seems future Dunedinites will look at Forsyth Barr from afar and see it as a relic of a council that did not listen to its voters, and spent well out of its budget, affecting Dunedin for 40 years.
Many will say debate about the stadium should stop, they say it’s done so we better use it now. While I agree we better use it, we must be aware that it will be a drain on our rates, including our university fees. Here are a number of issues:
01 It will not be a multi-sports arena. It is too small to hold cricket, too large to hold ping-pong. It will likely only serve rugby and the odd (and really bad) Otago United soccer games.
02 It will not attract big bands. Let’s face it, Dunedin is a small city. It makes more sense for an international band to go to Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland or even Hamilton than here. Other than Elton John, only country music rumbles in the hinterlands of Dunedin. The stadium has terrible acoustics anyway, and Red and Starry Eyed has been told the stadium is badly set up for bands.
03 It has cost more than $224 million so far, and some people are already claiming “Rugby is a cancer on Dunedin”.
04 It is ugly, it would not be a good idea to stick that shit on to a postcard. And who sends postcards anyhow?
Gone are the Stop the Stadium days: Red and Starry Eyed isn’t going to say it’s still a viable option to scrap it, but the DCC has to look at all options. What Red has heard is that the stadium is chucking out hundreds of litres of booze every weekend, and managers have complained. If the stadium wants to fix its debt, maybe it should look at cutting down on the waste, or passing it on to scarfies on Castle Street. At least they’ll be happy.
Dunedinites and passers-by can only hope they are listened to in the future; as I’ve said before: Democracy is the cornerstone of a working society. The last DCC forgot who it represented and went well against the wish of the majority, alas karma bit back. Is neo-liberal capitalism in danger of going down the same route?
–Red and Starry Eyed
Red and Starry Eyed | Issue 12
On The Stadium
