The Carisbrook stadium and the Athenaeum building in Dunedin have both been registered as category 1 historic buildings by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (NZHPT), despite derision of the proposal by the Dunedin City Council.
Trust Otago-Southland area manager Owen Graham confirmed registration yesterday.
Carisbrook's registration related to the playing field and the turnstile building in Neville St.
"Carisbrook has worldwide recognition as a sporting venue. When you mention Carisbrook to people around the world the immediate link to Dunedin is made."
The Athenaeum, in the Octagon, was "a special landmark building located in a very special location".
"While there are issues regarding the interior . . . these are not insurmountable and it remains an excellent proposition for adaptive, sympathetic re-use . . ."
Awatea St stadium funding opponent, former councillor Lee Vandervis, and fellow Open Democracy council candidate Michael Hurley, nominated Carisbrook for registration during last year's election campaign.
The Athenaeum was nominated by Dunedin art curator and historian Peter Entwisle.
The DCC opposed the registration of both sites, and the NZHPT's decision to go ahead was described by councillors in August as "stupid", "barmy" and "ludicrous".
The council has argued it may redevelop the Carisbrook site if the Awatea St stadium goes ahead, and registration could curtail that opportunity, while registration of the Athenaeum, including its interior fixtures and fittings, could prevent the council redeveloping the site as an 800-seat theatre.
Cr Richard Walls said yesterday the process for registering buildings was flawed, as one person could trigger a proposal for registration.
Nomination of the stadium was "an election stunt", and the suggestion for the registration of the Athenaeum came from Mr Entwisle, who opposed an 800-seat theatre being built there.
Both had "their own agendas", Cr Walls said.
The NZHPT acted as "judge and jury".
There was no hearing or appeal.
Mr Entwisle said yesterday he nominated the building in 2005 after he discovered the council was going to buy it, and realised it was threatened.
"Also because it is a historic building."
Mr Entwisle said he would like to protect the whole quadrant of the Octagon the building was in.
He had done his research, and it had been open to anyone to contest that.
Mr Graham, responding to the criticism it took only one person to nominate a site, asked if Nelson Mandela, as one man, was wrong to fight apartheid.
"It doesn't matter who makes the nomination," he said.
There was research, a peer process, and a submission process, all of which were "rigorous".
Dunedin Deputy Mayor Syd Brown said he was not too concerned about the Carisbrook registration, as he did not see it as much of an impediment to future development there.
But he was concerned about the Athenaeum.
"That really worries me."
It was all very well to talk about adaptive re-use, as the trust had, but any development, which ratepayers would fund, had to be economic, he said, or "everything falls over and we've got nothing".
Mr Graham said registrations did not offer any protection to the sites, unless the council listed them in its district plan, a challenge he would like it to take up.
That decision will be up to councillors.
