Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr stadium wasn’t universally welcomed and mumblings about its cost to ratepayers continues.
But yesterday the city was buzzing and a near-capacity crowd enjoyed a wonderful game of rugby there in comfort.
It was a mild evening but even so it was probably the first time most of the crowd had watched a test in Dunedin in shirt sleeves.
The roof climate-proofs events and that matters this far south.
Rugby was the winner last night but the stadium is used for a variety of other activities which are much more enjoyable for being held under cover.
Among these is the Otago wine and food festival which will take place at the stadium on November 23rd.
Economists say that people putting the case for stadiums overestimate the benefits and underestimate the costs.
But not everything can be measured in money.
Dunedin isn’t feeling very positive at the moment but the stadium is a bright spot which brings locals together and attracts people from other places too.
Homepaddock 
Sadly those who benefit socially, financially, culturally or in any of a myriad of ways are very difficult to target to underwrite the significant costs of creating and building such an asset.
That appears to have fallen on the ratepayers of Dunedin City.
Oh there will be peripheral players who benefit but many will almost totally avoid paying due to commercial realities of hirage being so competitive.
When we were ratepayers in Masterton District Council we were rated by the Wellington Regional Council to subsidise rail commutors from the City Suburbs in their daily travel, and that same net was cast to provide funding to “The Cake Tin”.
Neither the stadium or the passenger rail was of any benefit to us in rural Wairarapa, apart from one visit to see my beloved Red and Blacks sent back to Chch with their tails between their legs and to view a visit from a show based on the Edinburgh Tattoo, both of which could have occurred at other venues.
It appears the Forsyth Barr stadium has had a significant degree of burden on DC ratepayers and that raises the question was the funding structured that way or was the model insufficiently weighted to future generations by way of long term loan funding.
It is a tremendous asset and a fine venue for a great spectacle last night.
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