Stadium: Who is being protected?

Received from Russell Garbutt
15 July 2014 at 4:30 PM

What is an advertisement, and what content of an advertisement needs to be able to be verified?

Readers of the Otago Daily Times, and followers of the on-going stadium debate which shows no signs of lessening in its intensity may be intrigued to know just where the sensitivities of the ODT lie.

Let us look at some simple facts which cannot be in dispute.

The Carisbrook Stadium Trust which was acting as an agent of the Dunedin City Council, decided to publish a full page advertisement in the 31 May 2008 issue of the ODT. The advertisement was headed up “The Facts about the New Stadium”.

In this advertisement it was claimed that “The funding target establishes a debt free stadium. On this basis the business plan for the stadium shows that it makes a profit. Unlike nearly all other Council owned facilities it will not need annual funding support. This assessment has been confirmed by two of New Zealand’s leading accountancy firms”.

This is published and accessible and the wording of the advertisement cannot be interpreted in any other way as the heading refers to all that followed as “facts”.

The advertisement also claimed that the Trustees of the CST were “committed to delivering this stadium, under budget, on time and to achieve its financial, social and economic goals”.

Now of course some advertisements for wrinkle cream use all sorts of phrases like “clinical tests prove etc etc”. Many people are ready to pounce on claims that are unable to be substantiated, or are untruthful, or are misleading, or cannot be proven. In other words, the makers of the wrinkle cream need to be able to show that there were indeed “clinical tests”. The fact that the clinic may have been part of the company making the cream is sometimes understood, and in any case, the makers of the cream hardly ever claim that “totally independent clinical trials using double blind processes found what we are claiming is true”.

But this is not some pot of wrinkle cream.

The CST claimed a number of facts in their advertisement that they said were verified by two of New Zealand’s leading accountancy firms.

So, I submitted a very brief letter to the Editor of the ODT that simply asked this:

Dear Sir

In light of the continuing operating losses of the Awatea Street Rugby Stadium, and the on-going debt costs from its construction, it would be interesting to be informed of just who the two leading NZ accountancy firms were that confirmed the Carisbrook Stadium Trust’s claims published in the ODT in 2008 that the stadium would be built debt free and would return an annual operating profit. Maybe these two companies could now tell us how the reality differs so much from the published claims.

Yours sincerely

The ODT has informed me that my letter was noted but not selected for publication. This is newspaper speak for it’s been binned.

Why should this be?

Should the ODT not be interested in ensuring that an advertisement of a major size on a subject that had divided the City was not at all misleading in the same way that claims were made that may not be able to be substantiated, or could be shown to be unfactual?

Is the ODT particularly sensitive to the views of those that decided to publish this advertisement?

Had the ODT entered into any understanding or arrangement that the paper would support the stadium project which may have led to less than stringent standards of advertising being followed in this case?

But perhaps more telling is that to my knowledge, the ODT has not followed up on the obvious story of just who these two leading NZ accounting firms were that supported the claims of a debt free stadium and an annual operating profit. My point is that time and distance show us that these claims were so at odds with the claims made and published, that serious questions remain unanswered on just how the CST and these two companies got it so wrong.

Maybe another newspaper sees the story that the ODT doesn’t?

[ends]

█ Legible copy: CST Advertisement, ODT 31 May 2008 (PDF, 200 KB)

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Related Posts and Comments:
9.7.14 John Ward, no mention of stadium or CST trusteeship
23.5.14 Stadium | DCC Draft Annual Plan 2014/15 ● Benson-Pope…
9.5.14 DCC Draft Annual Plan 2014/15 Submission by Bev Butler
12.3.14 Carisbrook Stadium Trust: Financial statements year ended 30.6.13
8.3.14 Carisbrook Stadium Trust subject to LGOIMA
24.2.14 Carisbrook Stadium Trust: ‘Facts about the new Stadium’ (31.5.08)
22.2.14 Carisbrook Stadium Trust costs
24.1.14 Stadium: It came to pass… [stadium review]

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

What won’t get printed on ORT’s front page (pssst, about the Albatross…….)

UPDATED POST June 10, 2012 at 7:10 pm

A response at ODT Online.

Ahem
Submitted by farsighted on Sat, 09/06/2012 – 5:58pm.

There have been 18 major events since the stadium opened in August 2011. So it’s not “weekend in, weekend out”; on average it’s less than one a fortnight.

For the grand opening: around 650 (no hire fee); North Otago game: about 7500 (hire fee written off as bad debt to ORFU); Canterbury game: 14067 (hire fee written off); RWC: 4 games, attendance 30700, 25687, 20117, 28027 (no hire fee paid due to arrangement with RWC2011, cost to city $400K); Phoenix game 1: 15000; Phoenix game 2: 4628; Otago United games: 3 games at around 250 per game; Elton John: 35500 (no hire fee paid); Super Rugby: 5 games, attendance 22500, 17670, 18417, 18207, 14967.

Total attendance: 234337; Average attendance: 15240; Total cost of opening: 5 events at $30K, 13 events at $100K = $1.45M; Hire fees paid: 7 events out of 18; Total written off: $800K; Total cost to the city: $2.25M or $10/person (operating cost only).

These figures are useful to project what needs to happen for DVML to break even. They need to do that on approximately 300K visitors, 26 events per year. One event per fortnight is $2.8 million in operating costs, plus DVML’s $2M or so administration costs and the $5M or so they need to pay DVL, so they need revenue of about $30-$50 per visitor. At the moment, the average ticket price is around $20/person (student tickets sell at around $12 each), or a shortfall of $4M, which squares with the reported figures.

Read full comment

Plus one: Big Night In – around 20,000 visitors (zero income); in addition to the $100K opening costs, DCC paid [$70K] for the event to take place.
(ODT Link)

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SPREADSHEET
Supplied. Entries verifiable from public sources. It may be possible in most cases to report the ticket prices for sales via Ticket Direct website for past events.

stadium-event-attendance1 (21.5 KB)

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

SUNK Stadium: TOO MUCH ratepayer money going west STOP

Garrick Tremain – 11 May 2012

The point is $224 million is not the TRUE COST. It is FAR HIGHER. Dunedin City Council must stop all OBFUSCATION. Open the books to a full independent forensic audit of the council and related entities NOW.

Meantime, close the stadium to stem the losses.

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### ODT Online Fri, 11 May 2012
Budget blowout pushes stadium cost to $224m
By Chris Morris
The final cost of the Forsyth Barr Stadium has risen to $224 million, after independent auditors uncovered a budget blow-out of more than $8 million, it has been confirmed. The findings showed the stadium’s capital cost had risen by $8.4 million, from $198 million to $206.4 million. Interest accrued during the stadium’s entire construction period, as loans began to be drawn down, also hadn’t been included in costs.

The $8.4 million overspend meant costs exceeded budgets by 4.2%.

The PWC review did not seek to apportion blame, but findings had been passed to council chief executive Paul Orders, who told reporters he would study them “coolly and calmly”.
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Can it be true? Nahhh #peepshow

Initially, did Ngai Tahu (Kai Tahu) get turned down for Dunedin City Council project funding towards the Haka Peep Show (‘black penis’), now resplendent in the Octagon?

Did Ngai Tahu then come back to DCC saying, more or less, that if DCC didn’t front up with the $50,000 then Council wouldn’t get any co-operation from the tribe with resource consents, etc?

No! This didn’t happen. In any case, the minutes of the Art in Public Places subcommittee (if released), or those of the Community Development Committee (which turned down the APP’s $100,000 funding request) wouldn’t be so specific as to the politics, surely?

No. No. No. A vile rumour, completely fictitious.
Not the way we do things in Dunedin!

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### ODT Online Tue, 20 Sep 2011
Councillors join Ngai Tahu working party
By David Loughrey
Dunedin city councillors Fliss Butcher and Jinty MacTavish have joined a working party that will find “opportunities and mechanisms” for Ngai Tahu to contribute to the city’s decision making.
Read more

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ODT columnist Dave Cannan has been asking questions about the artwork. In today’s ‘The Wash’ (ODT, 21.9.11) he says, “The cost of Rachael Rakena’s much-discussed installation is “in the vicinity of $115,000″, although some accounts are still being finalised.”

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Abhorrent spending on RWC by Dunedin City Council

The council has budgeted $350,000 to pay for tournament planning and events, excluding stadium costs. ODT Online (7 July)

We will assume this sum doesn’t include the aggregated hours spent by Council staff on all planning and events management.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

RWC Merchandise

### tvnz.co.nz 9:34AM Monday June 27, 2011
Investigation reveals RWC merchandise made in China
Source: ONE News
A Close Up investigation to screen on TV ONE tonight has revealed that tourists buying official Rugby World Cup merchandise could be in for a shock. Close Up reporter Kate Lynch told TV ONE’s Breakfast today that most of the All Blacks’ World Cup memorabilia isn’t made in New Zealand – it’s made in China.
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Local media step up reports on RWC 2011 campaign, leaving real costs out

Dunedin Venues Management Ltd chief executive David Davies said the building of Forsyth Barr Stadium was going to plan and it was set to be handed over at the end of July.

### ODT Online Wed, 1 Jun 2011
Cup organisers confident
By Steve Hepburn and Hamish McNeilly
One hundred days from the kick-off of the Rugby World Cup, organisers say they are on track with tournament preparations. Travel companies handling accommodation for teams and fans had sourced hotel rooms as far afield as Queenstown, Oamaru and Gore on Dunedin match days, Tourism Dunedin chief executive Hamish Saxton said.

Dunedin City Council Rugby World Cup co-ordinator Debra Simes said the council’s transport and traffic management plan was in its final stages, and would include suburban train services.

Read more

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The council has teamed up with the Otago Chamber of Commerce to provide information for retailers on how to capitalise on the tournament.

### ODT Online Tue, 31 May 2011
Dunedin shops urged to make most of World Cup
Dunedin retailers may extend their shopping hours as they seek to capitalise on the Rugby World Cup. The event represented a “once-in-a-generation chance” for the city, and businesses should start planning now, Dunedin City councillor and George St retailer John Bezett said yesterday.
Read more

Related Posts:
26.5.11 RWC Bunting: Drape It Good
26.4.11 RWC 2011, this isn’t looking grand
16.4.11 Dunedin conniptions over RWC 2011, yawn
14.4.11 The haunting
9.4.11 Watching Dunedin spend for RWC 2011…
10.3.11 Events could shift south #eqnz
12.2.11 How many additional (unbudgeted) dollars will be needed from DCC…
22.1.11 No Fanzone at Octagon
20.1.11 No final RWC party at new stadium
18.1.11 Bleed out at DCC continues for RWC 2011
18.1.11 Is the stadium worth it, to private hospitality spending during RWC 2011?
10.1.11 Trains for RWC 2011?
1.1.11 In a city spending up large on RWC 2011

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

RWC Bunting: Drape It Good

Dunedin City Council
Media Release

RWC2011 Bunting Available for Sale

This item was published on 26 May 2011.

Stand by for an outbreak of Rugby World Cup 2011 official bunting across the city.

The 12m-long rolls of bunting contain 10 metres depicting the national flags of teams playing at this year’s Tournament, plus several 2011 Fern Leaf flags.

Retailers, schools, sports clubs and community organisations are all urged to purchase the bunting to decorate their businesses and buildings.

Flagz Ltd, which makes the product, is offering the bunting for $11.95 plus GST for one 12m length.

The bunting can be ordered on the official order form, available by email from kj.smith@nz2011.govt.nz It will take four to six weeks for your order to arrive.

Developed to promote Rugby World Cup 2011 in communities, buyers will be reminded to take care to ensure the bunting is not used in any way that suggests an unauthorized commercial association with the Tournament.

Information about the relevant restrictions is available on www.rugbyworldcup.com/mema

Contact Kim Newman on 477 4000

DCC page link

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

RWC 2011, this isn’t looking grand

We have an extended state of emergency for the country #eqnz – government borrowings are through ‘the roof’, and (business?) leaders are continuing to squander money we don’t have at local and central government level.
Rugby will save us.

“The important thing is to understand the scale of this thing from New Zealand’s point of view.” -Rugby World Cup Minister Murray McCully

### ODT Online Tue, 26 Apr 2011
$1.2b spent on Cup, $700m return – survey
(via NZ Herald)
New Zealand will spend more than $1.2 billion in investments backing the Rugby World Cup – against $700 million in direct economic returns. A wide-ranging New Zealand Herald investigation asked tournament organisers, local authorities, government departments, public bodies, transport hubs and key sponsors what they had prepared for the World Cup and how much they would spend.
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Dunedin conniptions over RWC 2011, yawn

We could be forgiven for thinking The World isn’t about to arrive here in slumberville.

### ODT Online Sat, 16 Apr 2011
RWC to challenge city
Just five months from the Rugby World Cup, Dunedin faces a formidable planning challenge, not least working out how to host an estimated more than 15,000 supporters before and after matches. A report to the Dunedin City Council finance, strategy and development committee on Monday lays out the tasks the city faces to be prepared.
Read more

Report – FSD – 18/04/2011 (PDF, 196.2 KB, new window)
Rugby World Cup 2011 – Update

Other ODT stories:
Cruise ships not option for cup accommodation
Games may be shown in 3D

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Watching Dunedin spend for RWC 2011…

### ODT Online Sat, 9 Apr 2011
Cup planning gains pace
By David Loughrey
With five months to go before the Rugby World Cup, and final decisions made on who will be playing where, the Dunedin City Council is picking up the pace of its planning for the event. Deputy mayor Chris Staynes, chairman of the council group that oversees planning for the world cup, said council staff had been working with a wide variety of organisations responsible for cup activities.
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

“Malcolm, it’s about stadium DEBT”

UPDATED

### 3news.co.nz Fri, 18 Feb 2011 6:38pm
Dunedin’s new stadium happy to prove critics wrong
By Dave Goosselink
It’s what you might call “grass roots” rugby. Former double international Jeff Wilson gave the turf at Forsyth Barr Stadium its first mow, less than a month after a special blend of seeds was first planted.

Critics have long questioned whether grass would actually grow under the stadium’s clear roof. Carisbrook Stadium Trust chairman Malcolm Farry is delighted to prove them wrong.

Read more + Video

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### ODT Online Sat, 19 Feb 2011
Hard to grow? Get off the grass
By David Loughrey
Just under four weeks since it was sown, the much-discussed grass at Forsyth Barr Stadium appeared more than ready for the whirling blades of a motor mower last week. And Carisbrook Stadium Trust (CST) chairman Malcolm Farry, clearly remembering those who said turf could not be grown, invited a swag of media to the event, which he described as an “historical moment”.
Read more

Malcolm will continue to rub the faces of the Dunedin public in the so-called grass right through RWC to Elton John, but what then? When does CST sink into the mud, better not lose the tops off those sprinkler taps, Malcolm.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

The long awful admission for our king sport, DVML

### ODT Online Wed, 16 Feb 2011
DVML prepared for declining interest in rugby
By David Loughrey
A decline in interest in attending rugby matches, due in part to “wall-to-wall” television coverage, should not affect revenue at the city’s new stadium, Dunedin Venues Management Ltd (DVML) chief executive David Davies said yesterday. The decline had already been identified and worked into the budgets for Forsyth Barr Stadium, he said.
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Report to DCC FSD: CST/PDT

The Dunedin City Council Finance Strategy and Development Committee meets on 07 February 2011

Agenda – FSD – 07/02/2011 (PDF, 32.3 KB, new window) [other reports]

Report – FSD – 07/02/2011 (PDF, 947.5 KB, new window)
Stadium Precinct Executive Summary 12

The average daily workforce at the site had dropped to about 150.

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Subtitled at ODT Online as ‘Behind the scenes at the stadium’ . . .

### ODT Online Sat, 5 Feb 2011
Private sector funding tops $38 million
By David Loughrey
Private sector funding for the Forsyth Barr Stadium, being raised though the sale of seating packages and sponsorship, reached $38.1 million by the end of last year, the latest report on the project says.
Read more + Photos

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Hey, mate . . . #2011RWC

Our thanks and appreciation to Garrick Tremain for contributing this work, previously published in Otago Daily Times on Saturday, 24 January 2011.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

No Fanzone at Octagon

### ODT Online Sat, 22 Jan 2011
Octagon fan zone dropped
By Stu Oldham
Dunedin’s world cup fan zone might be shifted to the Forsyth Barr Stadium after the Dunedin City Council decided yesterday not to have it in the Octagon. Councillors yesterday dropped the $300,000 plan for a sanctioned central-city fan zone in favour of what they hope will be a cheaper option at the new stadium.
Read more

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Related Posts:
20.1.11 No final RWC party at new stadium
18.1.11 Is the stadium worth it, to private hospitality spending . . .
15.1.11 DCC Annual Plan 2011/12

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Posted by Elizbaeth Kerr

No final RWC party at new stadium

### ODT Online Thu, 20 Jan 2011
Stadium cup-final party stymied
By Stu Oldham
Plans for a Rugby World Cup final party at Forsyth Barr Stadium have been abandoned because the game, being played at Auckland, cannot be screened live at a commercial event.
Read more

[Can Dunedin afford the fanzone?]

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Bleed out at DCC continues for RWC 2011

### ODT Online Tue, 18 Jan 2011
Another $350,000 for Cup?
By Stu Oldham
Empty shops could be beautified and public transport made free as Dunedin rolls out an increasingly expensive red carpet for visitors during the Rugby World Cup. Council staff want another $350,000 added to the $230,000 that city councillors have already allocated to their Rugby World Cup operational budgets.
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Is the stadium worth it, to private hospitality spending during RWC 2011?

OH REALLY, MALCOLM? I THINK WE WERE THE ONES SAYING THAT AGES AGO, AND NOW SOMETHING ABOUT ROOF LEAKS.

Carisbrook Stadium Trust chairman Malcolm Farry said it was widely telegraphed that the stadium would not make money from the Rugby World Cup.

### ODT Online Tue, 18 Jan 2011
Stadium faces $400,000 loss from three pool matches
By Stu Oldham
Dunedin’s new stadium looks likely to lose $400,000 when it hosts three pool matches for the Rugby World Cup.
Read more

HEY, NEXT YOU’LL TELL US IT WON’T BE READY FOR RWC 2011.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Trains for RWC 2011?

### ODT Online Mon, 10 Jan 2011
Trains part of Cup plan
By Hamish McNeilly
Suburban and inner city trains could be back on Dunedin railway tracks during this year’s Rugby World Cup, it has been revealed. Taieri Gorge Railway chief executive Murray Bond confirmed to the Otago Daily Times the tourism train operator was investigating opportunities during the tournament.

Taieri Gorge [is] yet to talk to rugby officials about the proposal.

Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Visitor industry hopeful

### ODT Online Sat, 8 Jan 2011
Tourism looks to better times in rugby cup year
By Hamish McNeilly
Dunedin tourism operators are hoping the burgeoning cruise-ship industry, in tandem with the Rugby World Cup’s lure for thousands of people, will be a panacea for the industry this year.
Read more

In a city spending up large on RWC 2011

The sober ODT opens the new year by lobbing in some chasteness…

“The realisation that individuals, families and the country have been living beyond their means has been striking home, and people are reluctant to spend freely.

Efforts to reduce household debt, a long grind for many, have begun.

Similarly, local authority councillors and mayors – notably in Dunedin and Queenstown – have finally recognised the need for frugality and hard spending choices after seemingly believing that money could be spent with abandon.”

Another Dickens story. Thank heavens, the newspaper editor lightens up in the end.

“As Otago faces another challenging year, it is as well to remember the province’s priceless attractions – its beauty, its space, its liveable climate, its agricultural base, its history and its heart.

These characteristics are worth recalling and emphasising as we meet the challenges of 2011.”

ODT Editorial

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Post by Elizabeth Kerr

Dunedin company iVisit develops free iPhone app

Mobile tourism information service

### ODT Online Wed, 29 Dec 2010
Are phones the new guidebooks?
By Hamish McNeilly
Guidebooks may be a thing of the past, thanks to an innovative Dunedin company which turns smartphones into a mobile tourism information service. Smartphone applications represented the most exciting possibilities for the fast moving tourism industry since the introduction of maps and guidebooks, AA Tourism online general manager Roger Slater said.

At the forefront of this technology was Dunedin company iVisit, which has spent nearly a year creating the smartphone application XplrNZ.

Read more

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Related Posts and Comments:
23.12.10 ODT on the “the phoenix of design and innovation”
12.11.10 FREE wireless internet in Dunedin …now that’s wicked!
12.11.10 WIC NZ Ltd announces Innovate 100 programme
11.10.10 The Distiller + WIC — Dunedin entrepreneurs
28.9.10 AugmentedReality @ Dunedin
25.8.10 New hotspot in Anzac Ave, Dunedin

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

RWC 2011 ticket sales

### stuff.co.nz Last updated 13:56 16/12/2010
Rugby World Cup NZ’s highest-grossing event
By Michael Fox – The Dominion Post
The Rugby World Cup is still several months away but it is already New Zealand’s highest-ever grossing event, organisers say. Figures released today show 864,000 tickets have been sold, netting organisers $166 million in ticket revenue alone.
Read more

Post by Elizabeth Kerr

University stadium building (Phase 1)

### ODT Online Tue, 9 Nov 2010
University stadium building rises from the dust
By David Loughrey
The Oamaru stone-clad building is expected to house a new Unipol student gymnasium and recreation centre, the Foundation Studies language centre and foundation-year programme, and a cafe for staff, students and the public.
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr