Slam dunk: James Gough
The courage to back ourselves on a major city investment is paying off.
The question is not if people will debate a proposed major city investment. They always will. The question is whether a city has the courage to back itself, and what happens as a result.
One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha is already providing an answer. Super Round brought around 75,000 fans, 13,500 visitors, 34,000 bed nights, and over $6 million in visitor spending. Sold-out crowds since then for rugby games and the Six60 and Synthony concert, show it was not a one-weekend wonder either.
At The Terrace, we felt it first-hand, with a number of our restaurants and bars experiencing record trading. That is not insignificant, because we have always set the bar high and partnered with some of the best operators around, who were already performing strongly before the stadium opened.
But it is much bigger than only The Terrace. It was felt across the city. More customers mean more staff, supplier orders, couriers, cleaners, security, taxis and rideshares, bed nights, and retail spend.
During my time on council, I recall some of the vehement opposition to the stadium, saying it should not be considered while parts of the city still had toilets not flushing properly. They were right to care, but it was never an ‘either-or’. Christchurch was never going to be considered recovered, let alone ambitious, simply because it had the finest flushing toilets in the land.
The fundamentals matter. But a city also needs life, confidence, and places where people gather, stay, spend, invest and feel proud. The stadium is not the whole answer, but it is certainly proving a powerful part of it.
