The choice for a future premium stadium in Auckland has been narrowed down to two options - either a revamped Eden Park or a new waterfront precinct near the city centre at Quay Park. 

The groups behind both stadium bids now have six months to complete feasibility studies to try and demonstrate why their bid should become the choice adopted by Auckland Council. 

It comes nine months after Mayor Wayne Brown set up a working group to resolve what a multi-purpose “Auckland Main Stadium” would look like for the city, 

Four proposals had been in the running with the wider council yesterday taking a vote on which options to continue pursuing before releasing the decision this morning. 

Eden Park 2.1, a redevelopment option of the current national stadium, had earlier been believed to be the front runner. 

Its bid involved increasing the stadium’s capacity to 60,000, making plans for a retractable roof, a new north stand, upgrades to two other grandstands and a pedestrian access way crossing Sandringham Rd. 

Eden Park's capacity would lift to 60,000 under the 2.0 vision. Image / Eden Park Trust 

The second proposal to be backed yesterday is a waterfront stadium precinct to be built at Quay Park or Te Tōangaroa, backed by New Zealand Rugby, and including an All Blacks-branded hotel. 

“Both bidders have been invited to complete their feasibility studies within a six-month time frame, at their own expense,” Auckland councillor Shane Henderson - the chair of the Stadium Venues Working Group - said. 

The two bids will not only have to demonstrate why they are better than the other bid but also how they are better than the current stadium arrangement in the city. 

Brown had earlier made it clear that any stadium options will be at “no cost to ratepayers” and, with no funding in the council’s 10-year budget to contribute to the hundreds of millions of dollars for a new stadium, council sources had been picking the status quo in Eden Park. 

An artist's impression of the proposed "sunken stadium" by Bledisloe Wharf. 

Senior Herald writer Simon Wilson had earlier correctly reported that he understood councillor Henderson had ruled out proposals for stadiums at Wynyard Quarter and Bledisloe Wharf because the council has “consulted on other plans” for those areas. 

These two losing proposals involved: 

- A 70,000-seat, fully enclosed stadium sunk into the Waitematā Harbour, next to Bledisloe Wharf, with a floating roof above sea level. 

- A stadium and entertainment precinct at Wynyard Quarter encompassing the main 55,000-seat stadium, an indoor arena and an outdoor amphitheatre to view harbour events like SailGP. 

Henderson said all four shortlisted stadium proposals “demonstrated innovative ideas” and showcased “vision”. 

“As part of this process, we initiated an expression of interest callout to the open market,” he said. 

“Submitters were asked to present options for a national stadium that could be delivered at little to no cost to ratepayers, while providing a vision for a world-class future-proof multi-purpose main stadium that will deliver economic benefits for Aucklanders.” 

Those evaluating the proposals included independent consultants with expertise on stadium operations together with councillors who understood public opinion on the issue, Henderson said. 

One industry expert earlier told the Herald in February that the proposed main stadium, wherever it is ultimately placed, will need to have a minimum of 30 major events annually to break even and more than 40 to turn a profit. 

That will mean that sporting content with anchor tenants such as the Warriors, Blues and the new Auckland A-League football team will be crucial given the fickle and complicated nature of entertainment events, especially large-scale concerts. 

Wynyard Point consortium head Richard Dellabarca told Newstalk ZB’s Elliott Smith that the current set-up of four stadiums (Eden Park, Go Media Stadium Mt Smart, North Harbour Stadium and Western Springs) was unsustainable. 

An aerial view of how the Wynard Point proposal would look on Auckland's waterfront. Image / Populous