Submissions indicate strong support for increasing budget of Christchurch multi-use arena

An initial analysis of the public submissions received by Christchurch City Council indicates strong public support for increasing the budget for Canterbury’s multi-use arena, Te Kaha.

Community feedback was invited until Tuesday 5th July on whether Christchurch City Council should increase the budget for the Canterbury's multi-use arena, Te Kaha with Council having agreed to seek the public’s views before making a decision on whether to proceed with the project, with an escalated cost of up to $150 million.

Council received 30,500 submissions - by far the biggest response Council has had to a consultation in a decade, which shows the high level of public interest in the multi-use arena.

Council Research Analyst Aimee Martin advised "we received about 30,500 submissions and the initial analysis that we have done shows 77% support Christchurch City Council putting more money into the project.

“8% of the submitters have indicated they want the project paused and re-evaluated while 15% say they want it stopped completely.

“The percentage split for each option and overall number of submissions could change slightly over the coming days as we have yet to complete the data cleanse that will remove any multiple submissions that individuals may have put in over the last 24 hours.”

The majority of the submissions – around 74% – came from within the Christchurch district.

Martin added “Our initial analysis shows some recurring themes in the comments. Submitters across the three options provided feedback on the financial implications and economic benefits of the project and investing an additional $150 million.

“Many provided feedback on financial contributions from neighbouring territorial authorities and the wider Canterbury region. There was also a range of feedback on the size and capacity of the arena, the need for a roof and other design features.’

“We will analyse the submissions in more detail over the coming days and prepare a full report for the Council to help inform its decision-making on Thursday 14th July.’’

At the 14th July meeting, the Council will also get updated information from:

• Te Kaha Project Delivery Limited on its efforts to secure a fixed price contract for the arena from its lead contractor BESIX Watpac.

• Venues Ōtautahi on the key design features, economic impacts and the life cycle costs of the multi-use arena.

The reports for the Council meeting will be published on the Council’s Agendas and Minutes webpage on Tuesday 12th July.

The Council meeting will begin at 10am and will be live-streamed.