Dunedin ratepayers were not given the full details or even the correct figures on how their city council would fund the new Otago Stadium, say opponents.
The Stop the Stadium group has gone to the Court of Appeal, seeking to quash a decision to go ahead with Carisbrook's replacement, despite the piles already being in the ground for the $198 million project.
The Court of Appeal in Wellington today reserved its decision following complex legal arguments, but promised to release its findings as soon as it could.
Stop the Stadium's lawyer Len Andersen said ratepayers had not been fully informed of the funding impacts as the estimated cost of the new stadium rose from $188m to $198m and some sources of funding shrunk.
Mr Andersen said the council's contribution to the project had risen from $91.4m to $109.9m. Although each ratepayer would still only pay $66 a year, the council would still have to find $10m a year to fund the loan, which meant $5m would have to come from council-owned companies - money that could be spent elsewhere.
That meant the risk to the ratepayer had increased, which they had not been informed of or consulted on, he said.
"If the consultation had been transparent and proper and the full details had been out there then people could make their assessment and have a meaningful consultation."
Mr Andersen also said the draft Long Term Council Community Plan (LTCCP) said the council would contribute $85m but the operative plan's figure was $98.5m.
Rather than helping the council, central government's $15m contribution had actually gone toward addressing a drop in private sector funding, down from an estimated $45m to $30.3m, he said.
The council says that with lower interest rates and the $15m from government, the total cost of the loan over 20 years is the same, despite the increased price of building the new stadium.
The council's lawyer, Frazer Barton, said the total cost of the project was included in the consultation document but not the total cost of the loan as too much detail could "lose" the ratepayers.
If strict guidelines on consultation were followed to the letter it would "paralyse local government", he said.
"The cost to the ratepayer is the ultimate yardstick, which reflects the cost to the local authority. The one thing that has remained static is that figure of $66."
Mr Barton admitted there was a mistake in the LTCCP figure of $85m when it should have been $98.5m.
He also said the consultation document did not spell out all the details of funding, but that all the information was in there for people to find out.
He urged the Court of Appeal to reject Stop the Stadium's appeal.
"Further consultation will absolutely kill the project, there's no doubt about that.
"This has far reaching consequences and enormous cost. We are at the point of no return."
