Unfit For Purpose

- Paul Thomas

Sixteen years elapsed between when Danish architect Jørn Utzon won an international competition for the design of the Sydney Opera House and the building’s formal opening. Given the present rate of progress – or, to the casual observer, stasis – Canterbury sports fans must be wondering if it will take as long or longer for Christchurch to get a new rugby stadium.

When Lancaster Park was closed after the February 2011 earthquake, a new stadium was designated an “anchor project”, to be completed in time for the 2017 British and Irish Lions tour. In the interim, Canterbury and the Crusaders would play their home games at Addington’s Rugby League Park, which was renamed AMI Stadium and upgraded to see it through till 2017.

Then the new stadium’s timeline was extended to 2025. The interim solution’s use-by date has been pushed out to 2022 and the project is in Groundhog Day mode: long periods of apparent inactivity are punctuated by promising announcements of imminent meaningful action that never eventuates.