Now the Balclutha rugby veteran says driving past the remains of the old ground is heart-breaking.
"It does break your heart to see. It was such a great field, with so much history and so many memories.
"I remember as a player going to Carisbrook. You knew the crowd was going to be good, or a big crowd, when there were cars parked basically heading up to the lights in Caversham.
"Now you just see it as just a bit of a - well, you could say it's an eyesore.''
Mr Latta, who played 161 games for Otago, said he often passed the old ground on visits to Dunedin, and was "embarrassed'' by what he saw.
It was not a good look for Dunedin to have a "derelict'' industrial lot at the city's southern entrance, he said.
He was a staunch supporter of Forsyth Barr Stadium, but had hoped Carisbrook could be retained as a sporting facility that offered a base for club teams.
That was then.
Now he just wants something - anything - to fill the void.
"It's just got to get some foundations in the ground and get used for something, instead of just being a few piles of concrete and a bit of steel.
"To me, it doesn't look good.''
But whatever eventually developed, it would not replace his "special'' memories of Carisbrook.
"You'll never take those memories away from the people who played there, or went there and supported, whether it be rugby, cricket or anything.
"They're your own memories and that's what you treasure.''
