Stadium might not be ready
Not sure what the planning committee have been doing this last two years :S
Stadium might not be ready
From correspondents in Wllington, New Zealand
November 13, 2007
THE head of New Zealand's largest building firm has warned organisers of the 2011 Rugby World Cup that decisions on rebuilding stadia and transport links need to be made shortly or they will not be completed in time.
Feltcher Building's chief executive Jonathan Ling also told the media after the company's annual shareholder meeting in Auckland that the $NZ190 million ($A161m) redevelopment of Eden Park, which will host the final, and transport links in the city was of particular concern.
"We're getting to a point that unless some of these key projects are started soon they physically won't get finished in time for the World Cup," Ling said.
"Unless a decision is made shortly then no construction company will want it because it won't be able to be finished in time."
New Zealand was awarded the hosting rights for the event in 2005 with a commitment to upgrade Eden Park, which held the first World Cup final in 1987, to an International Rugby Board-mandated minimum capacity of 60,000 at a cost of about $NZ325 million ($A276.49m).
However, the government said its preferred option would be to build a new NZ$500 million stadium on Auckland's waterfront to take advantage of the central city's rail and bus links and hotel accommodation.
Local government leaders rejected that option and scaled back plans to a $NZ190 million ($A161m) upgrade of Eden Park.
Reuters
