Stop the Stadium to target councillors

No one decides to move to Dunedin because of rugby - people come here because of jobs. Professional rugby is entertainment. If Dunedin wants to grow it needs to grow its economy to provide more full time jobs. This is something a stadium doesn't do because it's only active a few days a year. It provides the sorts of jobs that are good for pocket money for students, not the sorts of jobs that real people can live on and raise families. If you want to spend $350m+ on something that creates real economic growth - throw $1m a year each at 10 startup companies for 20 years (do matching funds with other VC investors) - don't build a pile of concrete that sits there idle 350 days a year.

...and to some it seems, this will be the hub of Dunedin? Puh. Amazing to read such comments, saying half of Carisbrook is 10 years old, (is that old for a building of a minuscule purpose like rugby?) the long entrance and the corporate block, 5 stories high and the size of a hotel, used for silly rugby for a few hours a year, is classed as old, no more than a shed. (Strange looking shed, I must say, looks more like a modern grandstand with a hotel-like block) And already is outdated, needs hundreds millions of public monies to replace it – with an oversized shed? This compares with the facilities many organisations around the town have, shoestring budget, who would find something like Carisbrook a luxury. And they run year round. That puts it in perspective. Glinks’ Chrystal Ball seems to think that London got it wrong, but this one in our small city, one of the last stops before the South Pole, will be a success and other than rugby, there’ll be things like concerts coming. Can you just see them all bypassing other big cities to come here? Has anyone phoned ABBA, for instance and told them about Dunedin, no, not renowned for scenery anymore, or unique old buildings, but a new mega price tagged stadium? I’m sure they’ll be instantly considering regrouping and packing their bags come stadium opening time. Coldplay, U2, and Eagles will be making a beeline. Umm, right. And to the comment "how do we attract anyone to Dunedin?" Or should I say, how have we done it so far? Not with a tin and glass shed, but given the focus on the stadium seems to have shrouded the fact that Dunedin happens to be full of precincts of unique heritage buildings, and is surrounded by a diversity of scenery, which ever direction you head off in. That’s what attracts people and it works – it could work better though. There is a multitude of potential in which we could build to enhance, and improve access to other parts. Some thrill factor attractions would not go astray either. You seem misinformed in many ways, Glinck, saying the stadium is an extra $20 per person for rates. The projected rates was $66, but it's now been proven to be more than double that. Do your maths. I don't care whether it's $20 or $200, it's the principle, and some people in a recession don’t need needless extra expense for white elephants for a fringe crowd of bottle throwing rugby heads, of which your attitude telling people to stop the sulking is typical. That’s pretty much what the rugby lot do when a game is lost, (like in June at the French team) if they don't go more extreme. This heinous tin shed impedes progress in the city twice over, in costing so much for a few hours of games with a roof 'just in case it happens to rain'. Secondly with all monies being thrown at it, it stops any other attractive useful or core project of large scale that would have benefited a wide spectrum of people. Talk about frivolous demands for you own world, sod everyone else. You say "Get on board?" I don't think so. Your words too "How can we as a town expect to attract anyone or thing down here with nothing more than a shed as a stadium." Well, that’s what the new one is, you at least put that right. Having passed the caketin a few days ago, and indeed stadia in UK, they were all dead despondent areas as the places are empty all but a few hours a year, while all around the real things that make a city happen are doing their stuff every day of the year. If we used our noodles, even mildly, it wouldn’t be rocket science to see that if we created new tourist attractions here, like a cableway up Mt Cargill for one, (like Christchurch did up Cavendish) we’d be going somewhere. Another attraction for all the visitors, on cruise ships, camper cans, backpackers and of course the locals. That’s just for starters.

I like your idea of a South Island NRL team. Im not sure about the depth of league players in the south island but im sure its worth pursuing. Getting the warriors down for the odd game would be worthwhile. Wellington had the Bulldogs play a number of home games at the caketin a few years back and it was a massive success, huge crowds.

Im interested to see how the new stadium will influence the waterfront and the Harbourside precinct. Establishing new connections between these areas will go a long way to the growth of Dunedin as an urban destination. Its all good stuff

The real moaners are the ones who consider Carisbrook, which had millions spent on it 9 years ago, not good enough. For it's use, it is more than suffice. It got heaps more spent on it than most establishments do around the town. The arrogance of these people who demand another, publically funded, is breathtaking.

But the message above by glink points out, the millenium done was a waste of money, in a large city, that says it all. So the purport above in his message; we are told to back another very likely loser, instead of channel money on things that could actually count. If you lot want it so much, why don't you cough up a grand or two a piece, I mean you could even have your name carved on one of the uncomfortable plastic seats.

I like classic aircraft, so maybe I should demand the public pay for a Spitfire so I go do aerobatics over the harbour, (it amounts to the same thing) it'd be a darn site more exciting and stirring than a boring stadium, mostly for rugby. After all, it won't do demo derbies, moto cross, track and field, and the list goes on.

How many times a year do live acts like Elton John come to the main centres? Once a year? Four nights of it being full is going to make Dunedin thrive? Talk about being in cuckoo land.

STS mght have lost for fighting for what was morally right, had justice been true and proper, it would have been a different story, espcially in the face of the $13 million undisclosed extra, glaringly typical of the underhand processes.

Point taken Ian, but the damage will have well and truly been done by then, it already is. Though at least it might stop any other of their harebrain ideas, like the tacky glass cube plan. It will indeed be good to see them go for a slide. Whatever though, they should go, the voted message of unpopularity will be lost on them though, as it has so far. To them, the end will have justified the means, as the adverse effects on the rest of the town won't affect them at all, in their publicly funded 'ivory tower'. Consider the sacrilage of despoiling our peninsula scenery that attracts hundreds of thousands per year... Perhaps if the stadium had been halted, in decades to come we'd have baulked at the thought considering the lost potential of doing many other inventive things with just some of the money going towards it, and not faced huge debt and mounting losses. Time to leave 'em to it. I guess we just have to deal with the fact that they are taking the city down, and move off the lot so we don't get dragged in the mire with it more than we already have.

"A messy end to a cobbled together group of the disaffected, outright negative band genuinely concerned." Mikenette, you could be describing the present council as at November 1, 2010.

The tunnel eyed, self serving view of the stadium rouge rears up yet again. I imagine Rob’s mob had plenty of demeaning descriptions for the people opposing the think big schemes.
Workforce all for it? Something connected to rugby or maybe CST, maybe? Well, someone would be making up some part of the 20% of the city who are for it. Yes, let everything else fall apart for just that, no matter what it costs and take, take, take off everyone who seems to not be allowed any say in the matter, despite it's their city, their money. If any other organization got to do that, especially with such a huge scale of money, all for the frivolous benefit of the few, there'd be hell to pay. The term used on STS as “disaffected, outright negative”, which should read “insightfully raw and cynically honest” would be the case of anyone who can see this project in a rationale light.
Maybe they were told to leave our ‘Goliath’ to do it, but conscious of what is right still saw it rubber stamped, (a case seems to all about lawyers now) and just at the same time, the crux of the case - un transparent processes is exemplified in grand scale as the hidden $13 million extra they 'forgot' to disclose is exposed. But somehow it didn’t get taken into account for an investigation, which Rodny Hide was meat to do after a huge influx of letters regarding this issue. Considering as soon as it was more than $188 million, they promised to drop the whole thing. You people cannot answer or justify things like the $13 million, but facts like this will continue to be ignored. That is such a clear cut case, and here it is happening in NZ. Have things come to this? This shows how clearly the course of true justice has gone blatantly wrong, maybe another government might have helped see the harebrain wastrel project go down the tubes long ago if any sense of fair play had been initiated.
Move on?, yes, well, there’s plenty of shafted people looking at leaving this city, it’s certainly not going to go anywhere for a long, long time now. “Oh, but who cares, we will have a stadium”. That’s just sad. Conservative thinking that thinks it’s outward thinking, and even exciting. It's almost laughable, and if it wasn't so serious, it would be.

No costs have been awarded yet, and it's far from certain that they will be. Stop the Stadium has already paid the $4500 bond so it looks like you are confused and projecting negativity, mikenette.

Apparently you failed, or chose not to notice the news about a 'forgotten' extra $13 million the ratepayers will be paying being exposed, and when found out, they can't give a direct answer, but to say there was a “few extra costs.” A broken promise to start with, when you consider $188 million, not a cent more!” That in mind, it or the ‘forgotten’ extra $13 million a tad more than $15 000 and the supporters' accusations of STS costing the ratepayer, what a lopsided accusation. Then there was selectively self suited 'moving deadlines, clandestine letters to government, steering around a referendum, just some examples. So there was nothing baseless in accusations of corruption and incompetence. Especially when those were advocated by leading economists and others in the know to endorse what STS were driving at. And now, rubber stamping the case right in the face of the undisclosed $13 million,. when the case was over lack of transparency, that just might be a clue... If there was supposedly any aggressive approach, well, the more diplomatic ways failed, so tactics had to change. You have to fight fire with fire. I suppose one way or another, the big wigs always have a few followers to belittle those fighting for the cause. And later those opposing the issue were, in the end found to be right all along.

I laugh when I read the stadium supporters constantly banging on with the majority/minority issue. In doing this they effectively do what they accuse STS of, unfounded information. There was one survey held, and it seems to remain one of the many conveniently forgotten items of this cult like group, that the stadium was opposed by 78 % . But since they think their project will make Dunedin go round, after starving those that do contribute, maybe there simply should have been a referendum. After all, if the DCC had nothing to fear, then it should have gone ahead. There's more anti the stadium than the 1500 in STS, as mentioned elsewhere here. The ugly Caketin in Wellington is a slight comparison, it sits in empty darkness most of the time, (just as this one here will) like the other day when I passed it, which is what it does most times of the year. What a bleak barren place, and a huge structure with a few slit windows, like a bad copy of a flying saucer from the Independence Day Movie.
Bev did well, as the DCC did all they could to cover their tracks. Good on her tenacity, there's been plenty of people who have stood up for to Goliath, but unjustness seems to prevail anyway, there's lots of occasions of that, nationally and globally in the years gone by.

The Chinese Gardens cost $6 million and are attractive, cultural, and a part of our history given the Chinese were here during the gold rush. It's also open daily for hours, and therefore will easily not run at a huge loss. In a word; worthwhile. It's also unique, not an ugly blight on the landscape.

You should be able to count them on fingers and you might make it to toes if lucky. The desperate drive to cadge money towards it created interst so low in Invercargill they had to change the venue to a small room. Oamaru was simliar. That was when they decided to write a quiet little letter to get taxpayer's money. Since the whole thing defies logic to Dunedin, (unless rugby makes the world go round, forget what happens 360 other days of the year), so, no reason why other places would have any interest, apart from the fanatical supporters ignoring the facts that appear on here regularly.The court costs vs the cost of this whole thing that should have been knocked on the head long ago is a drop in the bucket.  

Until costs (if any) are awarded against Stop the Stadium, they owe no-one anything. To my knowledge, Stop the Stadium has behaved with creditable integrity throughout this period of protest.
If only we could say that of all the other parties.

Hear hear Caz. Democracy will take care of the councillors without the help of STS. In fact I suspect any further action by STS would result in a few sympathy votes coming their way. It's time for STS to disappear - not to avoid paying costs but to avoid losing the public support they still retain.

Sorry, tangiwha, but I find the broken promises and misleading statements by CST, et al, to be a much more deplorable example to the young and impressionable than your unsubstantiated claim of StS intentions. Consider: 'No ratepayers' money will be required for the stadium' or 'Not a penny more than $188million' or, when Malcolm Farry was asked, what if the cost was more? - 'Then we won't build it.'

Tangiwha says: "What a deplorable example Stop the Stadium members are sending to our young people/students when they blantantly state "they will try and avoid paying incurred legal expenses." Who exactly is blatantly stating that, Tangiwha? You put it in quotes. Please name your source.