A civil claim between insurance companies in the High Court at Christchurch resulted last week in Justice Rachel Dunningham ordering the Invercargill City Council (ICC) and Mr Major to pay $16.9million.
She found the ICC was 10% responsible for the collapse and Mr Major was 90% responsible because of his failure to correctly inspect the manufacture and installation of the roof trusses he had designed.
The ICC's liability arose from the issuing of a code compliance certificate which, from an administrative perspective, should not have been issued without more supporting information.
Part of the roof collapsed during heavy snow in September 2010. No-one was injured.
The civil action was taken by IAG, the Southland Outdoor Stadium Trust insurers, to recover the cost of rebuilding the facility.
In a statement released yesterday, Mr Major said he accepted his inspections should have been more detailed.
''Unfortunately, I relied on the professionalism and workmanship of the parties responsible for the fabrication and construction of the structural elements of the stadium which subsequently failed. This trust was misplaced.
''In this case, my monitoring of this work was below the professional standards expected of me and those I typically adhered to. I extend my apologies to the trust and the Southland public for the role in which I have played in the loss of the stadium, and I am pleased that its replacement is such an asset to the community.''
The judgement and the earlier findings of the Department of Building and Housing and the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand investigations found no fault in his engineering design and specification of the trusses as originally designed and certified by him, he said.
Because the ICC had full insurance cover, the total cost to ratepayers is a $10,000 claim excess, which has already been paid.
Chief executive Richard King said the council's insurer, RiskPool, might end up paying most or all of the judgement if Mr Major was unable to meet his contribution.
Mr Major's lawyer, Roger Eagles, said yesterday Mr Major had already paid $1million and would not be able to pay 90% of the judgement.
