Ten 2025 storylines to keep an eye on
From elections to the future of Rugby Park, what will be the big Southland storylines of 2025?
We’ve made it to 2025 and another year of news from Southland will be rolled out. Logan Savory takes a look at ten potential 2025 storylines to keep an eye out for.
The new hotel intrigue…
The former Menzies building in Esk St West has been rejuvenated and is being transformed into a 4.5 star, 150-room luxury hotel.
It’s slated to open in July 2025. It will be a significant moment in Invercargill’s hospitality accommodation landscape.
It will come two and half years after the Invercargill Licensing Trust opened its new 78-room 4.5-star Langlands Hotel.
ILT CEO Chris Ramsay has already indicated the introduction of another 150-rooms will create the most competitive accommodation market in Invercargill’s history.
The intrigue will centre on whether the new Distinction Hotel in Invercargill can attract more tour operators to the city as hoped and increase visitors and in turn occupancy numbers.
There will also be intrigue on what that will mean for some of ILT’s accommodation businesses, including the likes of the Kelvin Hotel if there is a decline in occupancy numbers.
The future of Rugby Park…
In May Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark suggested Rugby Park did not have a future.
The Invercargill City Council then voted in favour of stopping maintenance spending on Rugby Park from 2025 with Clark saying they would be “throwing money away” by putting more funds toward the venue.
At the time Rugby Southland officials said the move had “blindsided” them and they raised concerns around the future of the historic home of Southland rugby without any planned maintenance spend.
It prompted Rugby Southland and council officials to agree to form a working party to find a way forward. Active Southland has been included in the working party.
The working party is looking at various matters around an outdoor stadium for Southland.
A final report is set to be presented to the council in the first half 2025.
It’s felt like any sort of long-term planning for Rugby Park has been kicked down the road for many years now. 2025 looms as the year when there finally might be some decent direction - whatever direction that might be.
10,000 at Rugby Park?…
On the topic of Rugby Park, Rugby Southland may well have a timely bold attempt to pull in 10,000 people for a Stags NPC game in 2025.
It would fly against the narrative of declining crowd numbers in New Zealand rugby over many years.
In 2024 the Stags pulled in its largest NPC crowd at Rugby Park in many years when 7300 people showed up for the “Stag Day” fixture between Southland and Otago in August.
There’s a feeling that if the stars can align in 2025, and with a bit more of a push, the magical 10,000 NPC crowd figure could be reached for the first time in close to 15 years at Rugby Park.
All eyes will be on the announcement of the 2025 NPC schedule.
Invercargill’s new mayor…
Sir Tim Shadbolt held Invercargill’s mayoral chains from 1995 through to 2022 before Nobby Clark was elected as the city’s first new mayor in close to 30 years.
In October, 2025 Invercargill is set for another new mayor.
Clark has stated he will not stand again at this year’s election.
Current deputy mayor Tom Campbell has indicated he wants the job, as has third term councillor Alex Crackett.
Another current councillor Ian Pottinger appears likely to soon join the 2025 mayoral race as well, although he hasn’t yet officially confirmed that.
In 2022 10 candidates stood for the Invercargill mayoralty. It would be a surprise if it was as big of a field in 2025, but only time will tell.
But what about Gore & Southland?…
While we are almost certain to have a new Invercargill Mayor come October, whether that will also be the case for the Gore and Southland Districts is unknown.
Southland District Mayor Rob Scott has confirmed he will stand again in October. In 2022 Scott won mayoral race with a just a 39-vote margin over second place Geoffery Young.
Time will tell if Scott has the backing of voters for a second term.
Gore Mayor Ben Bell hasn’t yet confirmed if he will or will not stand again this year. His start to his mayoral term began in controversial fashion when some fellow councillors suggested he should reign. Although the public drama has since eased.
Bell won the 2022 election by just eight votes over incumbent Tracy Hicks.
Project 1225’s race against time…
At the beginning of the current council term the Invercargill City Council made the new museum build a priority and labelled it Project 1225.
The naming was in relation to the quest to get the museum building done by December 2025.
That date has now just ticked under 12 months away.
Of course, it should be pointed out the council stress the December 2025 date they have circled was only for the completion of the building itself.
The actual “museum experience” inside the building is expected to take another six months or so which means the museum won’t be open to the public until mid-2026.
47-year test drought to end?…
We thought it might have happened in 2024 but surely 2025 will be the year. I’m talking Jacob Duffy’s test cricket debut.
While Duffy has represented New Zealand in the white-ball formats an opportunity to play at the ultimate level - test cricket - has eluded Duffy to this point.
That’s despite him being in India with the Blacks Caps for their historic 3-0 test series win.
You have to head back to 1978 to find the last former or current Southland Hawke Cup player to play test cricket for New Zealand.
It’s been a long stretch since top-order batsman Robert ‘Jumbo’ Anderson played his last test for New Zealand against England close to 46 years ago.
You have to go back ever further to Gren Alabaster’s last test in 1972 to find Southland’s last born-and-bred test cricketer.
Duffy - a former Southland Hawke Cup player and Southland Boys’ High School pupil - could end the drought in 2025.
We will have to wait until July when New Zealand tours Zimbabwe for the first chance of that happing.
Return of infamous National Pipe Band Championships…
Invercargill is in for a significant economic boost when the city hosts the New Zealand Pipe Band Championships on March 7 and 8.
The event will be held at the cricket grounds at Queens Park and the last time it was held in Invercargill 7000 people either participated or attended.
That was in 2020, which also coincided with emergence of Covid.
Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield was in Invercargill watching his son compete at the 2020 New Zealand Pipe Band Championships.
He was staying at an Invercargill backpackers when the enormity of Covid-19 hit home for him.
“I read quite a seminal paper on what was happening with the virus around the world,” Bloomfield said.
“I can remember pacing around the room feeling quite agitated. I just had this sense that we needed to act quickly.”
The very next day the Government announced that anyone coming into the country would need to self-isolate for 14 days.
What’s the future of these buildings/spaces?…
There are some significant holes in Invercargill’s CBD jig-saw puzzle that appear to need some filling, and we might get a better understanding of their future in 2025.
The historic H&J Smith department store, in Invercargill’s CBD, closed in late 2023 and has remained empty since.
It’s a prime location for some sort of town square/inner-city park type setup - although that would take a significant council investment to make happen.
Next door the council’s civic administration building will soon be empty as well with the council staff be moving out.
That will leave another significant inner-city building empty. Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark says he has been approached from various developers who want to turn the building into inner city accommodation.
We’ll probably get some answers as to its long-term future in 2025.
There is also land on the corner of Kelvin St and Tay St which was initially marked for SIT student accommodation as part of the city block development.
However, that land - partly owned by the council’s holding company - still sets empty.
Steel, Sharks revival…
It’s been a tough few years for the Southern Steel netball team and Southland Sharks basketball team. Both teams have struggled for wins in the ANZ Premiership and Sal’s NBL respectively.
But it’s been a big off-season for both teams as a 2025 revival now looms.
Steel legend Wendy Frew has stepped in to coach the team in 2025, while the Sharks have recruited highly touted American Jonathan Yim to take over the coaching duties.
Both organisations have worked hard in the offseason in regard to player recruitment and should have a stronger playing roster to call on.
Playoffs anyone?
