Proposal submitted for 'underwater' stadium in Auckland

With Auckland Council currently considering the viability of a new stadium on the Auckland waterfront, a designer has submitted a radical plan for a subsurface stadium.

The stadium, which is the brainchild of Auckland designer Phil O'Reilly, has been dubbed 'The Crater', and would sit on the waterfront but would be sunk underground and below water level to avoid being a visual barrier.

In an unsolicited submission to Auckland Mayor Phil Goff, O'Reilly said the stadium could easily incorporate an all-weather slide-over roof which could also be repurposed as a park or public space when closed.

The Council's Regional Facilities Agency (RFA) has commissioned an initial study on whether a new waterfront stadium is viable to eventually replace Eden Park.

Its consideration has revived a 2006 plan, backed by the then New Zealand Government, for a waterfront stadium

O'Reilly believes that his concept would be cost-effective as there are no external architectural features to consider and politically safe as there'll be no disruption to sight-lines over the harbour.

He told the NZ Herald "a huge monolithic structure between the city and the harbour pretty much kills it politically

"Think outside the box - go down, instead of up."

A spokesperson for the RFA said it was still assessing the feasibility of having a central city stadium location and was not considering any design concepts.

Mayor Goff is understood to have a preference for an all-new stadium, on Ngati Whatua land next to Vector Arena.

Images: Phil O'Reilly's design for a possible subsurface stadium in Auckland. Lower image shows the stadium with its roof closed. Courtesy of Phil O'Reilly.

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