A plan for a new national stadium on the Auckland waterfront has been devised by a consortium, who plan to fund its construction.
The latest plan, revealed by Newsroom , would involve the stadium being partly sunken into the reclaimed land at Bledisloe Wharf, land which is part of the Council-owned Ports of Auckland Lt.
The cost is likely to be in the hundreds of millions, with consultants PwC putting the price of a stadium at $1.5 billion in May.
The plan was reportedly put to officials and public agencies provided they sign non-disclosure agreements.
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff told Newsroom yesterday that he was aware of the plan but would not answer whether he was sworn to secrecy over further details.
"Council is not in the position to finance a stadium through ratepayer funding and it is not on our current list of priorities, we are however open to considering a national stadium being funded from the private sector."
Waitemata ward councillor Mike Lee was not aware of the plan and blasted the secrecy of it.
"Mr Goff needs to remember there is no such thing as a free lunch - let alone a free sports stadium," he told Newsroom.
The report from PWC in May cost nearly $1 million and failed to determine the feasibility of a downtown stadium.
The report examined the initial possibility of building a rectangular football-sized stadium, with an estimated capacity of around 30,000 seats but able to expand to up to 50,000.
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