All Black prop's message to mayor: 'Sort it out mate'
Southland All Black Ethan de Groot has reacted the news Invercargill's Mayor does not see a future for Rugby Park.
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Southland All Black Ethan de Groot has responded to the shock news Rugby Park’s long-term future is in serious doubt telling Invercargill’s Mayor to “sort it out mate”.
Mayor Nobby Clark has stated there is no future for Rugby Park and the Invercargill City Council has voted in favour of halting maintenance expenditure on the venue.
By doing so the council has saved $2.8m in capital expenditure costs. Although it has raised serious questions about what the long-term future is for an outdoor venue in Invercargill.
The drums appear to be beating louder for the development of a smaller boutique venue.
At a Highlanders media session in Dunedin on Thursday de Groot was asked for his thoughts on the situation.
The All Black prop certainly didn’t dodge the topic as he spoke about his love for Invercargill’s Rugby Park.
“It is disappointing… Obviously I wave the flag hard for the south. There’s no Southland without Rugby Park, it would be a shame if they let that go to waste.”
He was also asked about Mayor Clark’s comments that the council was “throwing good money away” on Rugby Park because it did not have a future.
“Obviously he’s not the one sitting in the terraces watching the games, is he. I don’t really know what to say other than sort it out mate.”
What about the prospect of an alternative venue?
“I just think they should fix Rugby Park and that’s where we play rugby. The history that is there, you can’t change the Stags home of Rugby Park, it’s a stapple. We love it there.”
de Groot added that he didn’t want Rugby Park to remain simply for the Southland Stags.
“I want to get Highlanders games down there. I want to be playing Super Rugby games down there every couple of years. That’s what Southland fans deserve, and we’ve got to have a place to play footy.”
de Groot says his earliest memory of Rugby Park was sliding down the hill in the mud as a kid.
There was always the prospect that the debate was going become emotive as Rugby Park’s future is questioned - given the history attached to it.
It happened at Carisbrook in Dunedin, and in Wellington with Athletic Park.
The proud Southland and All Black loosehead prop have just let the first emotive shot fly on the topic of Rugby Park’s future.
Groot will again captain the Highlanders against the Blues at Eden Park on Saturday.
He is again joined in the Highlanders 23 by fellow Stags Sean Withy and Jack Taylor.
Rugby Southland officials said on Wednesday it had been blind-sided by the council’s decision to halt spending on Rugby Park and comments that it did not have a future.
They said they had been worked of a 2021 report that had been adopted by the Invercargill City Council which suggested Rugby Park was the best outdoor stadium option for the city for the next 25 years.
The Outdoor stadium trust-built Rugby Park, Rugby Southland managed it on their behalf until they dispersed when ICC took on the ownership and management in 2015. There were issues from the start, but council had signed off the completed building and had voted to take it on, issues and all. Council charge Rugby Southland and any other user groups for the usage of the park. In 2021 an ICC commissioned independent report stated that Rugby Park was the best option for an outdoor facility for Invercargill for the next 20-25 years, but the lack of programmed maintenance, quality repairs and no promotion, had left the facility in a poor state and underutilized. Rugby Southland staff were forced from the facility 6 years ago due to the toxic mold, caused by a leak between new and old grandstands. It was to be for a 6-month period. This issue is still to be fixed.
Long term planning decisions by the council had resulted in an agreed staged fix for the park to be completed in 2024-25, this week's change of direction was a complete shock and against an agreed solution.
The Mayor is doing his job by holding down Invercargill rate increases rather than throwing money down this seemingly bottomless money pit.