The Dunedin City Council will underwrite Otago Rugby Football Union debt for the next three years as part of a deal which includes the purchase of Carisbrook for $7 million.
Full article: Could make a “bloody” expensive park
The Dunedin City Council will underwrite Otago Rugby Football Union debt for the next three years as part of a deal which includes the purchase of Carisbrook for $7 million.
Full article: Could make a “bloody” expensive park
Mayor Peter Chin claims that:
“This is good news for the ratepayers and for the ORFU. It represents a sound investment based on a rigorous independent valuation of the current and future values across a range of land uses, all of which makes this a canny investment.”
Note that there has been no proper registered valuation, as would be expected in a deal of this type, and that the valuation includes “future values”. $7 million seems significantly higher than current market value taking into account the cost of demolition and the interference by the Historic Places Trust. When the lease ends after three years, the Council will be faced with servicing the $7 million debt. It is hard to see how it is a “canny investment”.
The Council is relying on Otago Rugby for most of the revenue for the new Stadium. Otago Rugby has had to be bailed out of financial difficulty because the product that it is selling in not attracting enough paying customers. This hardly inspires confidence in the success of the Stadium.
Alistair, as I’ve said to you elsewhere, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust Category 1 classification isn’t a protection on Carisbrook; it recognises the place’s outstanding significance. The Dunedin City Council has not granted District Plan protection to the place.
And again, NZHPT is not the malcontent here for Carisbrook’s future, if indeed any malcontent could be identified at all.