MEDIA RELEASE: Announcement on pre-feasibility study hailed as step forward.

A Trust formed last year with the object of accelerating the Multi-Purpose Arena/Stadium is throwing its support behind today’s announcement that work is about to begin on a pre-feasibility study for the inner-city Arena.

“We are thrilled to see some forward momentum”, says chair Barry Maister. “We would like to congratulate both Minister Brownlee and the Mayor on today’s announcement and offer to help in any way that we can”.

The Trust was established generated by a desire to have Christchurch return to its position as a centre for major events. The Trusts purpose is to act as an advocate both for the inner-city facility and a supporting major events strategy.

“Over the last 15 months we have been in discussions with a wide range of groups (both sports and other potential users) who share the vision of having a world class facility in the heart of our city. It is our belief that the end goal should be a high-tech, high use, covered, landmark facility which ensures maximum utilisation and will bring significant economic benefit to the city.”

The Trust hopes to share what it has learnt to date, along with their high-level concept design, with the Christchurch Stadium Trust who is leading the study.

“We’ve done a significant amount of work which we would love to share, and we will continue to do all that we can to ensure that the northern part of the South Island gets the facility that it needs and deserves.

ENDS

Supporting Information
Roles and Responsibilities of the Trust
The Multi-Purpose Arena Trust (MPA) is made up of individuals that are representative of stakeholder interests and responsible for enabling and supporting the Christchurch City Council and Central government to bring to life a multi-purpose arena, within a reasonable timeframe, principally for the benefit of the Northern South Island community but also as a ‘state of the art’ national facility.
Members of the Trust
Trustees
• Barry Maister (Chair)
• Stewart Mitchell
• Geoff Saunders
• Natalie Thain
• David Kennedy
• Malcolm Hudson
• Thom Craig
MPA Model - Principles
What will the model need to accommodate?
• High use - The MPA must have hard and soft floor capability to drive 200 plus events per year
• High use requires weather proofing. The MPA requires a roof.
• Repurposing will be required of Horncastle Arena to ensure the two Arenas are not competing for events in the city
• Depending on size, a contingency model to achieve desired outcomes for rugby test matches
• Inclusion within a Mega/Major Events strategy driven by Christchurch NZ that identifies usage up to 365 days per year
• Types of events suited to the MPA need to be identified in the Major Events Strategy
• The MPA needs to be positioned to be attractive for private investment opportunities
• High technology required to future proof
• Rectangular in shape
• Accessibility is essential in terms of public transport and parking facilities
• The MPA is a national facility for benefiting Christchurch, Canterbury, the South Island and the wider New Zealand community.

What could the Arena house?
• Corporate facilities
• Hotels
• Office Buildings or Apartments
• Event space or Exhibition area
• Entertainment and Hospitality venues
• Conference Area
• Gym and Sauna
• Medical or Health facilities
• Education or Arts
• Concert or Music venue
• Retail, Restaurants, Café and Bars
• Sports Museum
• Transport Hub for busses, taxi and guest parking
• High Performance centres
• Fan Zones
• Theatres

© Scoop Media