Playing in a rickety, temporary stadium in Christchurch is costing the Crusaders $1 million a year in operational costs and lost revenue.
The figure was revealed by chief executive Colin Mansbridge in the wake of a report by Christchurch City Council that costs have escalated on the planned new stadium "Te Kaha" by about $150m to a projected $673m.
The increase in costs has been due to worldwide inflation and building material rises. The opening date has also been pushed out to April, 2026. Options for the council include pushing on despite the blowout, scaling back the project, or halting it.
“It’s gutting, it feels like groundhog day,” Mansbridge said in response to the news.
READ MORE: Christchurch arena: Cost of Te Kaha could rise by up to $150m
The Crusaders have been playing at what is now called Orangetheory Stadium in the suburb of Addington since the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 rendered Lancaster Park unusable. The old stadium on the fringe of the CBD has now been demolished.
The Addington venue, first operational in 2012, was supposed to be temporary but still the Crusaders find themselves playing in a stadium held up by scaffolding and with a capacity of 18,000.
Originally a symbol of the city's resilience and ingenuity - it was built in fewer than 100 days - the draughty and now shabby stadium has become a sign of neglect and a lack of leadership within the city.
“The current venue is expensive for us – it’s probably the most expensive in the country and it’s the least attractive,” Mansbridge said.
“It puts us behind the eight-ball compared with the other Super clubs. I don’t know if we could go another seven, eight, nine years like that – we definitely couldn’t.
“We’re a million dollars behind the eight-ball each year so that’s a big gap to make up before you even start getting on the same playing field as everybody else.
“When we do surveys people love the team, the entertainment, atmosphere and the game, but it’s not like going to Forsyth Barr Stadium. And it costs us as well.”
Christchurch has missed out on concerts, rugby Tests and other events due to a lack of a venue in the city, with Mansbridge adding the current facility is unable to cater suitably for men and women double-headers due to a lack of changing facilities.
“At the moment, you can’t run a double header with male and female athletes without a significant compromise on one of the two teams. That’s not right in a city like Ōtautahi Christchurch – that we can’t run an event without upholding the dignity of both teams just doesn’t feel right.
“We’ve done planning on alternatives and we’ve had people invite us to go elsewhere. We’ve wanted to be here in front of our fans at our home – that’s been our primary motivation. But the longer it goes the harder it is to do that.”
The current design allows for a covered stadium seating up to 25,000 people with the possibility of adding a 5,000 capacity.
A de-scaling option was to bring it down to 17,000 seats with the potential to add 3,000.
But Mansbridge said it was unlikely Christchurch would be allocated rugby Tests on that capacity.
“I think the big thing is how long is it going to take to re-design and how much are the additional costs? If we take the time to re-design we may end up with a smaller venue that would cost the same.”
Mansbridge added that Sam Whitelock is the only current Crusader to have played in a permanent home stadium.
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