Immediate remedial work possible, councillor says

The cost "to fix the issues" at Invercargill’s Rugby Park could be $1.9 million and will not be sorted for this season, a report commissioned by the Invercargill City Council says.

However, a councillor disagreed and said it was possible for the council undertake immediate remedial work and allow tenants to return to the facilities.

Cr Nobby Clark will table a motion at an extraordinary meeting on Monday which will ask chief executive Clare Hadley to ensure the toxic mould at Rugby Southland and Rugby Southland Supporters Club’s offices at Rugby Park is removed by the end of June.

Their staff had to move out of the stadium offices in the middle of last year due to health and safety issues associated with the presence of toxic mould.

Another engineer’s report put more than 1500 seats in the main stand out of use because of worries about spectator safety.

Cr Clark said the work to strengthen and the work to remove the mould "was not linked".

"The reason people moved from there was the toxic mould. For any kind of work there, we need to at least take the mould out — so it needs to be done so the tenants are able to return to the offices for the start of the 2020 Mitre 10 Cup."

However, on Tuesday, council’s acting Parks Manager Michele Frey will present the report "Southland Regional Spaces and Spaces Plan", which includes the Rugby Park issues and Surrey Park.

The document outlines a preliminary assessment from Otium Panning Group on the future of the venues.

In it, the company recommended a detailed business case before committing to any significant redevelopment.

"The business case should start from first principles by determining whether a stadium of the scale of Rugby Park is required.

"If not what sort of infrastructure is required to meet demonstrated needs; where should it be located and at what cost; what are the alternative uses for Rugby Park and implications of demolition.

"The business case may determine that there are opportunities for better utilising the existing stadium and improving viability and identify what essential improvements are required for addressing these opportunities and at what cost."

The report says that the council has previously undertaken analysis into the cost of fixing the issues at Rugby Park and it was understood to be in order of $1.9 million.

Following this recommendation, Sport Southland submitted a letter to the council welcoming an opportunity to support it to progress the investigations into the two assets.

Council officers recommended then, that these next steps be ‘‘fully scoped’’ and undertaken before further significant investment into the future of the facility.

Questioned about the new report, Cr Clark said he was not aware of the content in it so he would not be able to comment any further.