Feature

Christchurch stadia officially “on hold”

Christchurch's new 35,000-seat stadium is "on hold" until the New Zealand city’s council clearly commits to funding it, according to Greater Christchurch Regeneration Minister Gerry Brownlee.

Both Christchurch mayoral candidates last week refused to back the project despite $40m having already been spent on acquiring land.

Brownlee said in response to a parliamentary question that the development of a business case for the stadium is off the table until the Christchurch City Council states clear support for the project.

"As a consequence of the Christchurch City Council (CCC) Long Term Plan (LTP), the CCC pushed out their cost sharing agreement commitment to beyond 2020," Brownlee wrote, in a letter to Labour's Canterbury spokeswoman Megan Woods.

"In that event, commencing a business case in 2015 more than five years ahead of the CCC funding decision, would have been a complete waste of money."

"As the [council] will not fund the project until after 2020, with even then no fixed date for funding to be available, this project is currently on hold," Brownlee said.

The stadium would be a replacement for Lancaster Park, which has been closed since it was severely damaged in the earthquake that hit the city in 2011.

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