Highlanders chief executive Richard Reid says people in the South need to realise there is a risk they may lose the Highlanders.
If there is a risk that Dunedin may lose the Highlanders, then it is too risky to build the new Stadium. The financialHighlanders chief executive Richard Reid says people in the South need to realise there is a risk they may lose the Highlanders. viability of the Stadium relies on large crowds at rugby. But projected crowds are based on those during the golden years of Otago Rugby in the 1990's. Otago Rugby has now lost its fan base. The fundamental problem expressed by Richard Reid is the same as that expressed by opponents of the Stadium: Dunedin just does not have a big enough population base to support it. It is notable that Richard Reid has waited until the decision has been made to proceed with the Stadium, before expressing these views. Over the last couple of years, Otago Rugby has been very quiet about the crowd numbers at Carisbrook.
But once Dunedin is commited to the Stadium and needing rugby to maintain cashflow, then we can be held to ransom by Otago Rugby: "subsidise us or lose the franchise".
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Is rugby that important anymore? Could a focus on different sports make the stadium worthwhile? Marketting a decent football league to the large international student base might make it effective.
ReplyDeleteBut all seems rather doomed. Why is New Zealand even trying to host a World Cup when there are plenty of nations with the facilities to handle it without ridiculous levels of investment from local and central government.