Dunedin City Council-owned company Delta is defending the decision to sell Carisbrook's former floodlights, after a councillor questioned why they were not shifted to the University Oval instead.
Cr Lee Vandervis raised the issue at this week's long-term plan budget meeting, as councillors opted not to fund a $2.5 million plan to install new floodlights at University Oval.
Cr Vandervis questioned why Carisbrook's lights were not retained and shifted to the cricket ground instead, given they had been suitable for both international rugby and cricket.
The lights were bought by Delta and installed at Carisbrook in 1998, but sold to the Christchurch City Council, for use at the city's post-earthquake AMI Stadium, in late 2011.
They had been deemed surplus to requirements following the construction of Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium, but Cr Vandervis said it now appeared they ''may have been useful'' for providing lighting around the University Oval.
Otago Cricket Association chief executive Ross Dykes, contacted yesterday, said the idea of shifting the lights to the University Oval had been discussed by OCA board members at the time.
''They sort of disappeared and perhaps we were all a bit slow on the uptake there.''
The old lights would ''certainly still be adequate'' for international cricket, but would cost ''significantly'' more to run and maintain than modern lights, he said.
Delta chief executive Grady Cameron said the idea of selling the lights to the council - as owner of University Oval - had been discussed at the time, but the council decided not to buy them.
''Given the limited market for stadium lighting towers, it was prudent to take up the unique opportunity to sell them to Christchurch City Council,'' Mr Cameron said.
He would not divulge the sale price without the agreement of the Christchurch City Council staff, but proceeds had gone back to Delta.
A revised proposal for floodlights at the University Oval was now expected to be presented to the council by the end of April.
