A proposal that would require all Canterbury ratepayers to pick up the tab for Christchurch's new stadium has met opposition from many of the region's mayors.
An artist's impression of a new Christchurch stadium. Photo: Christchurch Stadium Trust
Last week, Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration Megan Woods told RNZ that a regional rate, raised through the regional council, could be used to help fund the project.
The new stadium could cost up to half a billion dollars, while the Christchurch City Council has only budgeted $253m for it.
Several Canterbury mayors said their ratepayers were already having to stump up the cash for earthquake recovery, roading, water and storm water infrastructure.
A new Christchurch stadium was a long way down the priority list, they said.
Hurunui mayor Winton Dalley said the added cost might just be too much.
"We've got several million dollars' worth of debt created by the earthquake in the Hurunui district," he said.
"We need to take care of our own infrastructure first [amd] a lot of that is sports facilities [and] local halls.
"To be then asked for another rate for regional infrastructure from my local ratepayers is pretty difficult to accept."
Regional rates are levied through the regional council and used to fund infrastructure that benefits an entire region.
Mr Dalley said he was not sure if the burden of a new Christchurch stadium should fall on all of Canterbury.
Ashburton mayor Donna Favel was worried about how much her district's ratepayers were having to spend on roads and expanding their own sports facilities.
"Ashburton District Council has the fourth largest roading network in New Zealand - we have 2500km of roads to maintain."
Waimate district was in a similar situation, with ratepayers potentially having to bear a proposed average 6.6 percent rates increase to help fix roads and water infrastructure.
Mayor Craig Rowley said he would not support the regional rate for the new Christchurch stadium.
"We've got some major infrastructure spends coming up around water and roading and I'm always aware of the burden that is having on the ratepayer," he said.
"To then ask them to fund a sports facility in Christchurch might be a bridge too far."
Not all regional mayors were opposed, though.
Kaikōura was Canterbury's smallest district by population but mayor Winston Gray said he was open to the idea of contributing to a new Christchurch stadium.
The Easter weekend Ed Sheeran concerts in Dunedin proved that many districts could benefit from events that a large stadium can host, he said.
"Timaru, Waimate, Oamaru benefited from [the concerts]," he said.
"We all benefit to a degree; we sell fuel, we sell food - we are all in it together."
In a written statement, Megan Woods said the idea came from Selwyn mayor Sam Broughton.
Mr Broughton did not respond to calls today, although he had proposed the rate as part of his submission on the Christchurch City Council's long-term plan.
"We understand that this conversation is bigger than Christchurch and needs a Canterbury-wide approach," the submission read.
"The collection of rates for a stadium may best be done through a [Canterbury Regional Council] target rate."
Mr Broughton said in the submission that would allow the rate to be discounted based on distance from Christchurch.
He was expected to present his submission to the Christchurch City Council tomorrow morning.