David Davies, the man in charge of Dunedin's Forsyth Barr
Stadium, has developed a hands-on but "human" management
style. Photo by Peter McIntosh.
Few would argue Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium is one
of the city's most ambitious - and controversial - civic
projects. But what about the man at the centre of it all?
Reporters Chris Morris and David Loughrey talk to
David Davies about his past and his plans to make the stadium
work.
A few years ago, David Davies - the man tasked with making a
success of Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium - stood before a
High Court judge in London.
He clutched a Bible and swore to tell the truth, the whole
truth and nothing but the truth.
The then chief executive of English football club Queens Park
Rangers explained why the proud old club should take an offer
of a 10 million loan - a deal aimed at averting financial
ruin.
At the time, mid-way through 2002, the club's finances were
in a bad state.
The club was in financial administration, with a
court-appointed administrator given one year to run the club
while attempting to fix its affairs.
The loan offered was far from ideal - at 10% interest, it
would cost 1 million each year and place a heavy burden on
the club's shoulders for years to come.
However, the deal was also a last resort - the period of
administration was coming to an end and, without it, the
127-year-old QPR faced the prospect of being unable to field
a team the following season.
The judge, in robe and wig, approved the loan and Mr Davies
left the courtroom for the steps of the court, to be grilled
by English media.
Fast-forward to the present day, and Mr Davies (51) already
looks at home in the boardroom of the Carisbrook Stadium
Trust office in Dunedin.
It is an office he now occupies as the chief executive of
Dunedin Venues Management Ltd, the company established by the
Dunedin City Council to run Forsyth Barr Stadium and other
council venues.
His appointment in October was heralded as "critical" by
Dunedin Mayor Peter Chin, who cited Mr Davies' extensive
management experience.
And his CV certainly is impressive - starting with a BA in
sports studies, a masters in business administration and
stints as a venues manager for the Leicestershire County
Council and later Leicester City Council.
In 1993, he shifted to Ogden Entertainment, as a project
manager and later managing director, overseeing the
completion of the Manchester Arena - the largest indoor venue
in Europe, with space for 21,000 people.
In 2000, he joined the QPR football club as chief executive,
and from 2004 filled the same role for the London Wasps rugby
club.
Most recently, he was managing director of DHP Group in
Nottingham, an entertainment company running venues and
ticketing, concert promotion and band management operations.
Now, following an international search and the swish of a
pen, he has become the DCC's second highest-paid employee,
with a salary of up to $250,000 a year.
However, it is his time at QPR that he credits with helping
sharpen his skills.
In an interview with the Otago Daily Times, he talked
candidly about his career, including his turbulent time with
the club, and described his High Court appearance as
"incredibly humbling".
He also talked about the challenges ahead, displaying an
obvious eagerness to get stuck into them in his adopted city
of Dunedin.
Eagerness or not, however, it seems the QPR loan he argued
for all those years ago just will not go away.
Mr Davies credits the deal with helping save the club but in
2005, the club's new chairman, Bill Power, described it as
"scandalous".
It was a view mirrored by some posting on the club's
dedicated internet fan sites as well as some media, and now
the claims are swirling again - this time in Dunedin.
An email sent to media and others by Dunedin woman Pat
McCarty - a vocal opponent of the stadium and occasional
cartoonist - questioned Mr Davies' abilities based on his
links to the club's controversial loan.
Given the history, she asked: "Can Mr Davies deliver . . . or
have the ratepayers been sold a `pig in a poke'?"Mr Davies,
for his part, said he understood why the questions continued
to follow him.
"I fully understand there will be people sitting on the
sidelines saying `perhaps you shouldn't have done it'.
"You have to be pragmatic about it. You know people are going
to ask questions. In reality, I'm very proud of my time there
[at QPR]."
He insisted the club had, soon after his arrival as chief
executive in 2000, found itself in a situation that left few
options.
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