Opening of Christchurch’s metro sports facility delayed another two years

Christchurch’s long-awaited metro sports facility will remain out of reach for Cantabrians for at least another two years.

Crown company Ōtākaro Limited announced at 4.59pm on Friday that the facility, officially named Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre, is now expected to be completed in spring 2024 and opened to the public in early 2025.

It follows previous delays and budget hikes from the initial promise of the multimillion-dollar facility being completed in late 2021 and costing $301 million.

The project’s price tag has since jumped $16m, a bill the Government picked up, and it’s now scheduled to be completed in late 2024 – a total delay of three years.

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Construction sector constraints, challenging ground conditions and regular changes to the construction programme were blamed for the delay, Ōtākaro said in a statement.

Chief executive John Bridgman said the delay was disappointing for everyone involved in the project.

“If the build is finished towards the end of 2024 an early 2025 opening would be likely,” he said.

“At the start of the project, [contractor] CPB was forecasting having more than 300 workers on site for this main phase of the build. However, with reduced access to labour for a prolonged period and significant demand for construction workers across the sector, there have been times when getting half that number on the tools has been a challenge.”

Installing the 5m diving pool into the facility had also been a challenge, Bridgeman said.

“With its high water table, this site was always going to be a geographically perfect but geologically tough location to put a 5m diving pool down into, and there has been a small amount of subsidence around one of the dewatering wells.”

Parakiore is planned to have a 10-lane, 50m pool with 1000 seats for spectators, a diving pool, five hydroslides, and several indoor courts for various sports.

Work first started at the site, on the corner of Moorhouse Ave and Antigua St, in August 2018.

The facility would be owned by the Christchurch City Council, and its funding contribution to Parakiore remained “capped”, Ōtākaro’s statement said.

Bridgman said any additional construction costs arising from the two-year extension would be worked out later.

“We have a fixed-price contract with the contractor and any variations beyond the $317m already allocated will be worked through and agreed on with the contractor at a later date, but these won’t prevent us completing this outstanding facility.”