The construction of the new South Stand at Auckland's Eden Park has finally got the nod.
The park has been given the go ahead to demolish the South Stand and redevelop it for the next Rugby World Cup.
An independent planning commissioner has granted resource consent to construct a redesigned stand that will increase its capacity to 21,500.
It will include new dressing rooms, media and catering facilities and seats for more than 16,000.
Eden Park chief executive Adam Feely says construction work will not start until August to minimise disruption to the rugby season.
He says the park will host a Bledisloe Cup test before demolition work begins.
Feely says that still gives them plenty of time to complete the redevelopment by the end of 2010.
The new three-tier stand will cost $130 million.
Eden Park Redevelopment Board chairman John Waller describes the consent as a "major milestone" for the park upgrade project.
"It is the most time-critical element of the construction project, and so securing approval for the new design has ensured that the project remains on schedule."
Demolition of the old South Stand, which backs onto Reimers Ave, will start immediately after the Bledisloe Cup match in August. Old seats, steel, concrete and other materials from the Stand will be recycled.
The South Stand consent follows approval from the government in December to upgrade the design of the park from a single redeveloped stand to include additional stand developments around the current Panasonic Stand and Eastern Terraces.
"While we have always been confident that the design variation to that which was consented over a year ago was capable of receiving consent, the certainty of now having that approval keeps us right on track to complete the project on time," says Waller.
He says there are two further stages to finalising the consenting process: confirmation of the East Stand design, and approval of the new transport facilities and the additional facilities for Rugby World Cup.
"We have followed an excellent process to date; ensuring that both the Council and affected neighbours have been kept fully informed and this has ensured a smooth consenting process. We will maintain those high standards throughout the remainder of the consenting stages."
Fletcher Construction has been on site for the last few weeks and the consenting green light means they can now start their pre-construction work ready for demolition in August.
A public expo at Eden Park this weekend will unveil the latest
designs for the next stages of the park's redevelopment.
