Stadiums, in particular the FB Aurora Delta Stadium at Dunedin

Olympiastadion München, opened 26 May 1972

Received from Gurglars
Thu, 8 Jun 2017 at 2:11 p.m.

Bayern Munich bought out TSV 1860 Munich, their 50% joint venture partners, for €11 million. The stadium cost €360 million and originally seated 80,000 pax.

This is despite the Stadium being used weekly for matches for Bayern and TS Munchen, and six World Cup games being played at the stadium.

█ Wikipedia: Olympiastadion (Munich)

What this tells us is that stadiums are worthless once built – are not assets, but liabilities.

If they are fully owned (no debt) and receipts go to the stadium owners then they can be profitable, but only if the owner is also the user. Thus the only hope is for the Highlanders/Otago to own the stadium.

The DCC have demonstrated that all they can rack up is more debt, more bills and more losses.

[ends]

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Fat chance of Otago Rugby taking over the stadium while it continues to be subsidised by DVML – the true cost of which is not made public. ORFU is now making profits but declines to pay back the ratepayers for the ‘simple things’, like black tie dinners held at the stadium in recent times. God knows what we’re paying for while Mr Davies sits atop his rugby goal post roost, clucking inanely, looking down at the pretty (untouchable) grass.

The prima donna approach is a False Economy, but not for dullards and professional rugby thugs.

Rip up the grass, put in articial turf, and let the Otago stadium be used by more codes / more sports people.

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“It is a little naive to think because it is raining outside and there is water on the facilities, you can just come inside.” –Terry Davies

### ODT Online Thu, 8 Jun 2017
Unrealistic to have club sport at stadium – Davies
By Adrian Seconi
The chances of playing club sport under the roof at Forsyth Barr Stadium without an advanced booking are virtually nil, Dunedin Venues chief executive Terry Davies says. The issue came up in mid-April when the Dunedin City Council closed all its grounds due to poor weather. The Dunedin Rugby Metropolitan Council was reluctant to cancel round five of premier rugby and had hoped to play on the sand-based surfaces at Hancock Park and Kettle Park and possibly under the roof at Forsyth Barr Stadium. However, the stadium was ruled out because of scheduled maintenance. The issue came up again last month when grotty weather forced more cancellations, although premier rugby went ahead as planned. Davies said the idea club sport could be played at Forsyth Barr Stadium because of poor weather was naive. […] “The stadium was fundamentally built to deliver a real economic impact for the city. We have a number of major contracts in place with the professional rugby bodies … and there are other major events that we need to look after. On that basis we run quite a detailed maintenance schedule right through to the year it ensure we can deliver. The last thing we want to do is have a facility that is [not looking its best].”
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

Dunedin rugby’s manifest advantage, and ratepayer subsidy, Again

Received from Rob Hamlin
Fri, 17 Jun 2016 at 9:30 a.m.

[begins]

ODT article today:

http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/387120/rugby-clubs-fear-viability

Response posting:

“Until quite recently I was the president of a major Otago sports club that has been operating since the 1870s. The club is located on Dunedin City Council recreational land.

The lease of this land very clearly stated that we were not permitted to hire out the facilities on this site for ANY commercial purposes. A breach led to immediate forfeiture of the lease. This was a condition that both this club, and others like it, adhered to.

It is adhered to because, penalties aside, this condition seems fair enough. The land upon which the club stands is leased for recreational purposes at what were, and are, well below the income that could be raised by the DCC for this publicly owned asset, had the land been zoned and leased for commercial purposes.

If anything the many rugby clubs in this town are even more privileged in terms of their subsidised occupation of public assets, as they have rooms that are on an even grander scale and sit in large and potentially very valuable areas of publicly owned land that are specifically contoured and laid out for rugby, and are maintained for this purpose at considerable public expense.

I am surprised that the DCC recreational leases for their facilities apparently do not contain similar blunt conditions to the one that my committee and I worked with. However, it is rugby, so perhaps I am not so surprised after all. Maybe the leases are rugby ‘specials’ or alternatively, the leases are the same and the apparently regular infringements are just winked at.

For rugby clubs to then maintain that they then have the ‘right’ to routinely operate these recreational facilities, that are largely provided and maintained by the the wider public, for their own commercial benefit, and thereby create a regular nuisance for said wider public within what are largely residential areas, speaks volumes for the ongoing and unreasonable sense of relative entitlement displayed by this small (and shrinking) subset of the community.

For those who become irritated by noise and other nuisances emanating from functions in nearby rugby venues, they may be well advised to acquire a copy of the DCC lease concerned to see if the club concerned are in breach of its terms, and what the penalties/remedies for any such breach are.”

[ends]

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Darren Burden plays LGOIMA game like Davies #DVML #PsychoAnswer

DVML’s attempts to deceive ratepayers continues under Burden’s control. Mayor Dull is fully complicit.

### ODT Wed, 10 Oct 2012
Letters to the editor (page 8)
Concern over attendance of rugby games
Recent national news stories regarding widespread concern over the NZRU’s ITM Cup competition, which report that the number of spectators are down in significant numbers, along with reduced ratings on Sky TV for their coverage of these matches, lead to some financial concerns for Dunedin ratepayers.
Can Darren Burden, chief executive of DVML who runs and manages the stadium used for these professional rugby matches, confirm that:
1. The average attendance at these matches at the Forsyth Barr Stadium is in the region of 5000.
2. The average ticket price for these 5000 attendees is approximately $20.
3. The gross income from ticket sales is, therefore, approximately $100,000.
4. The NZRU returns approximately 10% of gate sales revenue to the venue operator.
5. The income to DVML from gate sales is, therefore, approximately $10,000.
6. The cost of opening the stadium for a professional rugby match is approximately $100,000.
7. These matches held at the stadium therefore lose approximately $90,000 each time they are held.
If Mr Burden disputes these figures, can he supply in detail his version of the above statements, as well as an accurate profit/loss statement for the ITM matches held at the stadium?

Russell Garbutt
Wakari

[Dunedin Venues chief executive Darren Burden replies: “The ITM Cup provides variety and entertainment to our event schedule and has value to the stadium beyond just financial. The cost of opening the stadium varies depending on the size of the event. However, it is nowhere near $100,000 for an ITM cup match, as suggested. The information requested by Mr Garbutt is complex. I invite him to contact Dunedin Venues directly and we’ll happily review his request for information.”]

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr