Stadium Southland collapse to be referred to police

Stadium Southland collapsed under the pressure of snow in September, 2010.
Stadium Southland collapsed under the pressure of snow in September, 2010.
Stadium Southland's collapse under heavy snow will be referred to police, following an investigation that found it was caused by shoddy workmanship and a failure to identify structural deficiencies.

The Department of Building and Housing investigation, released today, found the September 2010 snow storm under which the stadium collapsed was severe, but the roof would not have collapsed had it been constructed to building standards of the day.

DBH deputy chief executive David Kelly said the department was referring the investigation's findings to the New Zealand police because "the degree of non-compliance was of such an extent that the New Zealand police should be involved.''

Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt declined to comment when approached, saying legal proceedings were under way. 

Mr Kelly would not comment on who was liable for the collapse, but said it was rare for a building such as the stadium to collapse under those circumstances.

"It shouldn't have happened.''

Hyland Fatigue and Earthquake Engineering structural engineer Dr Clark Hyland, who was commissioned to investigate the collapse by the DBH told a media briefing the design of the stadium complied to the standards of the day, but substandard steel fabrication led to the collapse of the building.

"We asked if, as built, (the stadium) would still meet the requirements for the standard, but it would be non-compliant at that point.''

Much of the substandard fabrication occurred onsite after trusses over the community courts were seen sagging and remedial works were carried out.

Dr Hyland said the remedial works were complicated, and were not carried out adequately.

The building should have held up to the estimated 0.30kPa of snow which landed on it, as it was designed to withstand approximately 0.47kPa of snow.

If the construction had been inspected thoroughly, the deficiencies should have been identified, Dr Hyland said.

- By Leeana Tamati

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