The Auckland Regional Council spent $2.91 million on travel, accommodation and promotion for the ill-fated football match between David Beckham's LA Galaxy and the Oceania All Stars.
The ARC refused to disclose the costs of travel and accommodation for the teams. The council said the information was commercially sensitive and subject to confidential agreements.
However, accounts given to The New Zealand Herald show an expense figure of $2.91 million - for accommodation and travel for the teams, as well as marketing and promotion costs.
It was also revealed yesterday that the ARC banked on David Beckham's "world superstar" status drawing Auckland's Asian community to its football game that lost $1.7 million.
"Beckham is a phenomenon in Asia and with Asian people," councillors were told in a pitch from staff for staging the LA Galaxy fiasco at the council's Mt Smart Stadium.
A confidential staff report received by councillors in April also said the ARC would be better off taking the profit from such an event than some other promoter.
The report, released to the Herald yesterday after a request under the Official Information Act, stated the stadium wanted to grow football and attract events which appealed to a wider demographic profile.
The "break-even" crowd needed was 25,000 but only 16,587 turned out and "a portion of these were complimentary".
