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 a business so it should be treated as a commercial operation" argument is followed through, there will simply be no international rugby south of Christchurch, other than NZ v Bumfuck Idaho B. Otago Rugby isn't the villain: they've done their best to compete in a pro sport system, where players are bought and sold to the highest bidders. I understand that this isn't something that concerns you, Paul, but I do think that the stadium trust should be allowed to put a proposal up and let the various funders decide whether to be in or not.

I came here as a student from the NI, moved away, moved back, moved away...and then came back to stay (so far),because we wanted our kids to have a good primary, secondary and tertiary education, and because I married a cleverer-than-me Otago woman who thinks that all roads lead south of the Waitaki. But when I was student president in 1977, we (OUSA) put together a $1.5 million (multiply by 8?) deal to buy property and build what is now the Clubs & Socs Building. Everyone, except the Uni Architect, said it would be a failure because the business model relied on students behaving responsiblity...it's not because they did. I guess I'm happer in a field of dreams than in a strict utilitarian model.

So, Paul: good to have you back. My experience, though, is that Dunedin's much more fulfilling as a destination rather than a transit lounge.

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 a story about how student behaviour was totally out of control (this was 1972) read: Pensioner Gets Rocket Up Front Passage.

I'm real. I support investing in a stadium. Paul needs to get out a bit. Waste of time shifting from the US to spend the whole time in the North End, chatting with university staff.