Stop the Stadium say ORC councillors left in dark on vital stadium info

Stop the Stadium says that Otago Regional Councillors did not receive vital information about the proposed Awatea Street Stadium before voting $37.5 million of public money towards the project.

Stop the Stadium President Bev Butler says Otago Regional Councillors did not receive or directly consider the peer reviews which contained vital information about the stadium project.

The peer reviews, originally prepared for the Dunedin City Council, are independent, professional reports on the new stadium proposal, and the only means available to the public to have confidence that current costings are accurate.

Consultants Davis Langdon, one of the main peer reviewers, noted that much of the requested documentation from the Carisbrook Stadium Trust had not been received, and expressed concern at the "magnitude of the exclusions" in the CST cost estimates.

Ms Butler says after repeated attempts to get information from the Otago Regional Council, she approached the Omsbudsmen's Office, whose investigations confirmed that no information on peer reviews was given to ORC councillors.

Ms Butler says when making a major decision to spend enormous amounts of public money, it is essential decision makers receive crucial information, and Stop the Stadium were very concerned that this had not happened in this case.

Stop the Stadium is a Dunedin-based campaign group to stop the proposed public funding of the Awatea Street Stadium, Dunedin, New Zealand

ENDS

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