Carisbrook Stadium Trust chairman Malcolm Farry is all
smiles at the Awatea St stadium site following yesterday's
High Court ruling in Christchurch, which dismissed Stop the
Stadium's injunction application. Photo by Gerard O'Brien.
Workers will move on to the Awatea St, Dunedin, site
within weeks to begin construction of the $198 million stadium,
after a High Court judge yesterday dismissed Stop the Stadium's
last-minute attempt to derail the project.
The dismissal was greeted with glee by Carisbrook Stadium
Trust chairman Malcolm Farry, who told the Otago Daily
Times he was feeling "unusually good" after news of the
court's ruling was relayed to him in Dunedin.
He also revealed planning was already under way for a major
international concert - with an as-yet unconfirmed performer,
expected to attract a crowd from around New Zealand - to open
the venue in 2011.
Four councillors who staunchly opposed the stadium project -
Fliss Butcher, Dave Cull, Teresa Stevenson and Kate Wilson -
yesterday pledged their support to making the stadium work,
and called on opponents to do the same.
The developments came after Justice Lester Chisholm threw out
Stop the Stadium's application for an injunction, saying the
group's application had "failed to get past first base".
The ruling followed Stop the Stadium counsel Len Andersen's
attempt on Thursday to convince the court there were further
direct and indirect costs to the council from changes in the
financial structure of the project.
Dunedin Mayor Peter Chin and city council chief executive Jim
Harland were in court for yesterday's decision, as were Stop
the Stadium president Bev Butler and her husband, Peter
Attwooll.
Speaking after the hearing, Ms Butler said she was "obviously
very disappointed". She would seek further advice from her
legal team, but intended to fight on against the stadium.
Yesterday's developments meant Mr Chin will sign a
construction contract with representatives from Hawkins
Construction at a ceremony expected to be held in Dunedin on
Monday or Tuesday next week.
Hawkins South Island regional manager Quin Henderson, of
Christchurch, told the ODT the company's representatives
would then be signing sub-contract deals with Dunedin
companies, beginning immediately after the signing ceremony
and continuing for several weeks.
At the peak of construction activity, expected in March next
year, about 700 people, at least two-thirds of them from
Dunedin, would be working in roles associated with the
stadium's construction, both on and off-site, he said.
The intention was to sub-contract the carpentry, concrete and
finishing work, as well as catering and other services, to
Dunedin firms, while structural steelwork - a more
specialised field - would probably involve a combination of
national and Dunedin companies, he said.
Construction would begin in early May, with establishment and
clearing work at the Awatea St site, which was expected to
take about six weeks, followed by eight weeks of piling work,
expected to begin in mid-June, he said.
Concrete work for the stadium's south stand would begin
halfway through piling work, and the aim was to have all the
stadium's stands completed by March 2010.
Work on the stadium's roof would then begin, taking about a
year, and was due for completion in July 2011, he said.
The venue was expected to be commissioned and tested in
August, in time for the 2011 Rugby World Cup beginning in
September, he said.
It was a tight and challenging timeframe, but "not
insurmountable", Mr Henderson said.
Many of the core crew for the stadium project would be drawn
from those who were involved in construction of the $218
million Otago Corrections Facility at Milburn.
- chris.morris@odt.co.nz
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