Public Address | Cafe | Speaker: Students vs Dunedin

Ben Austin

Tue, 24 Apr 2007 13:35:05 +1200

So back in Otago for a bit I've taken to scanning the ODT for talk of this stadium, and today's lead article on the ODT delivered. There is much threatening talk from the opponents, including rates revolts, electoral opposition, protest marches, and taking over meetings. All rather salacious stuff really,…

Paul Campbell

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 20:34:20 +1200

I was thinking about my analysis above and I realise that $50/person/game is a number only vaguely pulled out of a hat from the available numbers – could be larger (less that 20k people at every game?) could be smaller? (lower interest rates?) .... but it's an interesting number to…

James Green

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 15:29:59 +1200

Ben, I'm glad that you see Libraries as core business of Local Authorities :)
Incidentally, the DCC is, I believe, planning to replace both the main town library and possibly build a new satellite library in South Dunedin

And to rates. I guess I see them going up every year…

Kyle Matthews

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 14:57:34 +1200

Thankfully the Big Chill has been a car repair or painting shop for about three years now.

I couldn't give you the exact details of what the DCC provided, but my understanding is that they give the Dunedin Stadium at low rent for X years (X is 4 or 5…

Ben Austin

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 14:56:51 +1200

The Big Chill though...boy...that place used to weird me out. Visiting it was like going into a time machine – no eftpos (well they rectified that I think), greasy takeaways, surly staff, and facilities that really had seen better days. I don't know about you all, but I prefer the…

James Green

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 14:26:40 +1200

Kyle, don't tell me you are not happy with the facilities offered by the Big Chill?!

Aaah, The Big Chill. Ben, I'm sure you'll be disheartened that not only might the DCC contribute toward a new Carisbrook, but that they also contributed toward a new Olympic size ice rink and…

Ben Austin

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 12:55:04 +1200

Kyle, don't tell me you are not happy with the facilities offered by the Big Chill?!

Kyle Matthews

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 12:32:04 +1200

Er. Umm.

Where I said 10-12 people there. That's 10-12 thousand. Yup.

(damn yee non-editing posts. we have been promised, and yet delivery has not been forthcoming!)

Kyle Matthews

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 12:30:43 +1200

I've never assumed that the stadium would be profit-making if it had to pay off all the money given to it at full interest rate loans.

But then again, I can't imagine most sporting and recreation facilities in the city would. Edgar Centre, Ice Stadium. I presume the Cricket Oval…

Ben Austin

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 11:56:51 +1200

Crusty Demon type events

Ok Kyle, I have to ask, what the hell is one of the above?

James Green

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 11:42:42 +1200

Ben — Personally, I've always been about Willowbank ice-creams (they're a lot less stingy than most other dairies around the area).

As for the water, I'm a coffee and wine man, so I don't pay a great deal of attention to the stuff, but I think their 12 year program…

Paul Campbell

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 10:39:18 +1200

Actually in the US the stadia are often owned by cities but usually built with the intent of making money or at least breaking even – when things go wrong (like overly optimistic attendance numbers) the city often gets stuck holding the can. They are also usually built with a…

Kyle Matthews

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 10:10:45 +1200

Paul,

In terms of the ORFU having to front up. I was under the impression that the stadium would be owned by a trust, which would include the Rugby folks, but also other members. Obviously they're the prime user, but there are other interests.

I know in the USA stadia…

rodgerd

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 10:07:54 +1200

Rugby players can't cope with rain and soccer players can?

Clearly a lot has changed since I was a wee lad and "soccer sissies" was the epithet of choice for round-ball players.

Jason Lea

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 09:28:06 +1200

Soccer is supposed to be played in the rain. Perhaps your kids soccer games can move inside on sunny days and turn the sprinklers on :)

Paul Campbell

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 05:20:31 +1200

As I understand it it's the wrong shape/size for cricket and I'd guess it's probably only going to be used as a live music venue for stuff larger than the town hall and the Regent – which is about nothing – just look at the outdoor/under cover concert in the…

Ben Austin

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 23:57:17 +1200

James, no, it was not McDonalds I was after, however it was on a similar level. As I approached graduation my palate became more sophisticated and I moved onto that grotty chicken that the Willowbank dairy sold at the time.

I don't really keep up with the activities of the…

Ross White

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 21:48:01 +1200

I thought the whole point of the stadium proposal is that it will be a multi-purpose all-weather facility, rather than a specialised rugby venue. The ORFU won't be 'given' anything, and from what I've seen of the business case, it isn't predicated on public charity.

However. if the "rugby is…

Paul Campbell

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 21:01:42 +1200

Well I didn't really, don't even live there – but it's a pleasent 30 minute walk down to the uni and I do try and walk down and catch a seminar once a week, but then I didn't come back for the rugby either – in fact I came back…

James Green

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 21:01:27 +1200

I remember one sad day I drove to get some food, then when I returned 10 minutes later I couldn't find a park, so i had to sit double parked in my car (didn't have the petrol $$ to do endless circuits looking for parks)

Ummm. Having lived for four…

Ross White

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 20:07:01 +1200

My favourite headline ever came from the old Sunday News the week after a fellow Unicol-ite fired a skyrocket from a fifth floor window; the rocket hit the road once and shot through the front door of a house in Clyde Street occupied by an elderly woman. The headline, over…

Ben Austin

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 19:19:23 +1200

I'm not in favour of stadium spending like this, happily I'm not a Dunedin rateypayer so its not an issue (although I guess I'm still paying for the Wellington stadium right?)

I'm a little concerned about whether or not the transport infrastructure around the new site (if i have it…

James Green

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 17:49:07 +1200

Rob – I'm certainly not against the Dunedin student life at all. I just think that there should be more creativity in it. There seems to be a lack of imaginative stunts these days. I did, however, think that this dam was pretty cool

I'm also for closing George St…

Paul Campbell

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 16:51:29 +1200

well at least there's one thing I can agree on – let's close George street to traffic (and make Filleul and Gt King streets and Moray Place one way for buses and other traffic)

Kyle Matthews

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 15:12:53 +1200

Well, I don't think 30,000 people are going to go to every game of footy that's put on. If we presume that test matches and finals of domestic competitions, if we ever make one, are going to sell out, that's maybe two games a year. 20,000 people would be a…

Paul Campbell

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 13:07:47 +1200

My favorite (from probably 30 years ago) was "Police Stoned During IRA Raid"

Grant Robertson

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 13:04:28 +1200

I have made it a mission to collect great front page ODT headlines over the years, two stand out for me

"Azaleas Flower in Gardens" ( yes it was the lead)

"World Stops as Shrek Shewn" ( that is right they laid down arms in Baghdad that day)

Rob Stowell

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 12:53:28 +1200

James- good point about the comodification of "student life". I sort've want some of "that" for my kids- not that I want to know the details, understand! Nice post: it's just worth noting that the only-half-restrained indulgence of adolescence may be a part of becoming a grown-up. I know a…

Paul Campbell

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 12:25:32 +1200

Well being slightly more serious about the issue the whole stadium thing does actually sort of point out the divide in the city the original article was talking about .... I work at home and tend to socialize with people who work at or around the university ... as I…

Richard Wain

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 11:51:23 +1200

hi Paul, I know it was an offhand comment – but meet another (ex-)Dunedinite who's massively in favour of your new stadium!

not to labour the point – and this is little to do with this thread – but I reckon kicking Carisbrook and getting a stadium with a ROOF…

Paul Campbell

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 11:20:32 +1200

Are you real :-) can you explain the car park? how will the 30,000 people fit in the 200 cars? are they magic cars?

(ps :-)

Kyle Matthews

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 11:18:52 +1200

I'll never forget being in Dunedin several years ago when there was some serious financial news at a national level – Reserve Bank governor statement or something. Every other paper in the country led with it. The ODT led with a story about a youth who might have stolen a…

Paul Campbell

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 10:54:21 +1200

I think the couch burning thing will eventually die a natural death .... unless someone starts importing a supply from elsewhere the second hand stores will run out and future generations will sit on the floor

James Green

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 10:52:07 +1200

I read James K. Baxter's novel Horse recently, and was suprised and amused to see how in many ways little has changed in Dunedin in the last 50 years. However, one thing that I think has changed is the consumerisation of education. With EFTS funding, it's something that the university…

Riddley Walker

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 10:34:36 +1200

those bloody stereotypers, they're all the same

Russell Brown

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 10:30:12 +1200

This is still a city that publishes ALL the court news and we still read it (if only to see who we know who might be in it) ... a good public shaming probably still goes a long way here ... granny might find out .... it also means we…

Paul Campbell

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 10:17:08 +1200

(disclaimer: I'm now one of those 'stodgy' Dunedinites ... and I'm married to a student ... I suspect this is all terribly overblown)

We are talking about two relatively disparate worlds here – namely the letters to the editor pages of the ODT and Critic – most non-uni people probably…

Public Address

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 10:17:08 +1200

Discussion from blog post.