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The Invercargill City Council is planning to spend $4.5 million on deferred maintenance and strengthening work at the city’s Rugby Park.

Currently owned by the Council-run Invercargill City Charitable Trust, the Council is planning changes to the Trust as part of a long-term proposal that will make the ground structurally safe while also redesigning the northern, western, and eastern areas of the 18,000 capacity venue into open green and hardstand space.

The Council's consultation document on its plans advised “this would result in a space which is more flexible for different uses into the future (but) there would be a reduction in fixed seating capacity of 15%.”

Major tenant Rugby Southland is keen to return to the venue have operated from temporary offices since April 2019 after toxic mould was found at the venue.

Rugby Southland initially moved its operations from its offices under the grandstand at Rugby Park into the corporate boxes before shifting to a small building at nearby Surrey Park which was previously used by the Invercargill Netball Centre.

Rugby Southland General Manager, Steve Mitchell recently advised “the ongoing issues that are frustrating us all are finally being clarified and a pathway to reinstatement in the Park is being determined.

“It is my belief, to run a regional sports organisation such as ours, from a temporary office situation, is completely unsatisfactory, and we need to be back at our traditional home as soon as practical.”

On top of the closure of the Rugby Southland office at Rugby Park, 1567 seats in the 3400-seat Rugby Park grandstand are also off-limits at the moment because they have been declared an earthquake risk.

External consultation, funded by both the Council and Sport New Zealand, last year suggested Rugby Park remained the best location for a regional rectangular sports field complex for the city for the next 15 years.

The Council also plans to spend $1.5 million on rebuilding the grandstand at Surrey Park.

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