D'Arcy Waldegrave: Eden Park will be the future

On Monday, there will be a recommendation made to Auckland councillors around the future Auckland stadium.   They’ll vote in mid-late May and then the city will move forward into a brave new world of proper, purpose-built modern stadiums.   Tui ad, right?   For as long as I’ve been stinking up the sporting airwaves, stadia talk has been prevalent. Opportunity after opportunity missed, as the powers that be stumble about before tripping into their think tanks and drowning.    Money, location, self-serving needs and traditional ties to our meat and 2 veg sports have always scuppered any chance Auckland has had of lifting the city up with a stadium that they can be proud of.   The options are 4-fold.    3 on the Waitemata and the grand old lady up in Kingsland.    The uber-glamourous NZR-backed Quay Park, the sunken Stadium, the Wynyard Quarter development and Eden Park are all jostling for position to become the chosen one.   But let's face it, Auckland doesn't have the required balls to do anything brave or cutting edge. Never has, never will. The city’s history is a sad story of conservatism, fear, and half-cooked efforts. The Victoria Park Flyover and tunnel being the perfect example.    The Warriors have more of a chance of winning the NRL than AK has of building a brand-new waterfront stadium.    Eden Park will be the future.   That decision sits nicely in the sensible, risk-averse comfort that has long been the go-to for the city’s leaders.   Let’s hope that when Eden Park is chosen, the refit etc doesn’t bow to the tyranny of fear and budget, leaving us with yet another shambles to regret in coming years.   If it is the future, please build us something we can all be proud of and enjoy going to.   CEO Nick Sautner and his team have been doing everything they can to lift the park to the heights we deserve, their attitude, vision and commitment may well be the saving grace of this whole long-term stadia debacle.   That’ll do. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.