Taranaki Regional Council agrees to fund Yarrow Stadium renovations

Major works to repair New Plymouth’s Yarrow Stadium look set to proceed after Taranaki Regional Council agreed to a $50 million redevelopment budget for the project at its annual plan meeting this week.

The redevelopment of the structurally compromised venue, home to Taranaki Rugby, is now proceeding, with outer field updates on hold pending further discussions with the wider local sporting community.

With a vision to create the “best regional stadium in New Zealand” that regularly hosts national and international sports and entertainment events and a stadium for both major events and community events and the premier outdoor field for team sports codes, Taranaki Regional Council will tell the Yarrow Stadium operator, New Plymouth District Council, to seek ways to encourage increased use of the facility by a wider range of sporting and non-sporting organisations.

Taranaki Regional Council Chair, David MacLeod, says he’s pleased with the way the community took part in the consultation process leading up to this decision, advising “after we’d heard from everyone, we asked ourselves again what we need to achieve. After a lot of discussion and deliberation, we concluded that the vision adopted in 2015 still applies.

“Clearly, we must reinstate what we had, with updates that are necessary to meet current and foreseeable requirements for such venues.

“Weighing up all of the submissions, we’re confident that the community largely shares this view.

“We need to be clear that this is a repair and refurbishment project. We’re working with the Stadium we already have. If we were building a new one, a different approach might have been possible.”

The $50 million covers repairs to the earthquake-prone grandstands and related changes as well as  updates including additional food and beverage outlets and toilets, technology upgrades, LED pitch lighting, car park improvements, maintenance and grounds storage sheds, gate improvements, new South Terrace seating and reinstatement of the venue’s field 1.

The new $50 million budget includes $1.6 million for contingencies.

The project will be paid for via a 25-year targetted rate of about $70 for North Taranaki residents and $47 for South Taranaki.

Buinesses will pay through a combination of land value and a fixed charge of $150 a year.

The venue was shut down last year because geotechnical testing on the ground beneath its West Stand revealed it was a significant earthquake risk. The East Stand was closed in 2017 when it was discovered to be an earthquake risk.