Last week at the Invercargill City Council community and regulatory committee meeting, councillors discussed the ‘‘Southland Regional Outdoor Stadium Needs Analysis and Assessment’’ report.
The report confirmed urgent renewals and repairs were needed to safeguard Rugby Park's long-term future.
It was estimated work would cost $18m to develop the facility as a multifunctional venue and $7m to demolish it.
At the end of the discussion councillors agreed to include a proposal to invest in refurbishing the facility in the upcoming long-term plan.
The community will be able to provide feedback through a formal consultation process on the longterm plan next year.
Rugby Southland chief executive Hua Tamariki said the decision to include the refurbishment in the long-term plan was an important step to secure the future of Rugby Park.
“As a sports facility, it plays a vital role in developing and more importantly keeping local talent, hosting national-level events and maintaining crucial pathways for young people across our region into high-performance sport.’’
The organisation believed the facility was more than a sports venue, he said.
“It is a cornerstone of creating our Southland identity.
“For generations, it has been a place where athletes, families, volunteers, and supporters come together to celebrate what it means to be a Southlander, often through the connection created by our national game, rugby.”
Southlanders deserved access to an asset of this scale, he said.
“Our community should not be disadvantaged by being the only city of our size in New Zealand without one.” ILT chief executive Chris Ramsay said the park had been host to some great events in the past. “As one of many hospitality providers in the city, any opportunity the city gets to host large-scale events is beneficial so maintaining this city asset is important in that regard.” Invercargill Ratepayers Association representative John Hansen said in a time of financial difficulty councillors “must be extremely prudent” in their decisions.
The wisest option would be to repair the facility but the group was concerned about how often it was used.
“Last week there was a drinks festival in Queens Park and in years gone by Rugby Park was used for Relay for Life.
“Why is [there] so little usage at present?”
On the council’s Facebook page, where the news was announced, about 100 people ‘‘reacted’’ positively.
Comments ranged from “I don’t want my rates going up for a rugby ground” to “makes sense to refurbish and repair any asset”.
Some who commented were in favour of demolishing the stadium.
