Future use of Western Springs Stadium

Auckland Council and Tātaki Auckland Unlimited (TAU), who currently own and operate Western Springs Stadium, would like your feedback on options for the venue’s future use. Please tell us what you think by 11.59pm on Sunday 15 June 2025.


Option 1 – Auckland Arena

A state-of-the-art, multi-purpose venue that combines sport, culture and entertainment. Anchored by a new 12,500 - 15,000-seat stadium with high-performance facilities and fields, indoor basketball courts, football and padel for community use, plus commercial activity that includes hospitality options and a health centre.

Initial construction and ongoing maintenance will be covered by the proposers. Ownership of the built infrastructure will transfer to TAU once the lease ends. This relies on a long-term lease of 50 years with two rights of renewal for 25 years each (to total 100 years).

Initial assessment by TAU suggests that private sector investment of $200-$300 million in the new stadium, along with full responsibility for operating and maintenance costs, could reduce the need for public funding by $18.1 million over 50 years - compared to a scenario involving a 30-year lease to Ponsonby Rugby Club with two 10-year renewals and no clubroom upgrades.


Option 2 – Western Springs Bowl

A ‘Hollywood Bowl’ style live music concert and festival venue, with 50,000-person capacity and new permanent staging infrastructure. It would be an evolution of the existing natural amphitheatre and complemented with updated concert infrastructure for Western Springs’ outer fields. Ponsonby Rugby Club would renew its current lease. The new facilities would create an opportunity for a 5,000 - 8,000 seat boutique stadium, allowing the facility to deliver a broad range of community and semi-professional sport.

This proposal requires a mix of upfront private sector investment and council capital investment. TAU would retain ownership of the site and issue a lease for an initial term of 30 years, plus two rights of renewal lasting 10-years each (to total 50 years). It would be leased to the concert promoter from October to April, and to Ponsonby Rugby Club during the rugby season.

Initial assessment by TAU suggests that $30 million in private sector investment for new concert facilities, combined with $18-$20 million in ratepayer funding for community clubrooms and continued stadium operation and maintenance by TAU, could result in an additional cost to ratepayers of $48–$107 million over 50 years – compared to a scenario involving a 30-year lease to Ponsonby Rugby Club with two 10-year renewals and no clubroom upgrades.


Option 3 – Neither option: Keep things as they are, or explore other ideas

Under this option, existing arrangements could be retained. This includes extending the lease with Ponsonby Rugby Club, which currently runs until 2027. TAU could continue to manage the venue for concerts and festivals. Other ideas for the venue could also be explored under this option. This could include speedway returning to Western Springs Stadium in some form.

The estimated cost to the ratepayer of the existing arrangement if the lease with Ponsonby Rugby Club was extended is $31.1 million spread over a 50-year lease period.


Online information session

You can attend an online information session on Tuesday 27 May, 6pm – 7.30pm, to find out more about the options and ask questions.

Register to attend.


What we want your feedback on

We want to know which of the three options you prefer;

  • The Auckland Arena
  • The Western Springs Bowl, or
  • Neither option; keep things as they are or explore other ideas

We strongly encourage you to read the consultation document before providing your feedback.


When you can have your say

You can have your say on the future of Western Springs Stadium from 12pm (noon) on Monday 19 May to 11.59pm on Sunday 15 June 2025.


How you can have your say

Hardcopy versions of the consultation document and feedback form will be available at the following libraries:

To have your say, you can:

Future use of Western Springs Stadium
Auckland Council
Freepost Number 190198
Private Bag 92300
Victoria Street West
Auckland 1142

Please note: A summary consultation paper and feedback form will be made available shortly in Te Reo, NZ Sign Language video, Simplified Chinese, Samoan, Hindi, Korean and Tongan.


What happens next

The Governing Body of Auckland Council will meet on 31 July to review and consider the public consultation feedback and supporting analysis.

If Option 1 for Auckland Arena or Option 2 for Western Springs Bowl is preferred by the Governing Body after the public consultation period, council staff and TAU will work on completing a deal. This will include further investigations, due diligence, a business case and development of contract terms which will be comprehensively analysed before a final decision on whether to go ahead is made. If Option 3 is preferred, then further TAU and/or Governing Body decisions will also likely be required.