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Ah, rugby is back in Canterbury at last and I am most grateful for all those who have contributed to providing me with a temporary facility to view my rugby. Ooops, did I say temporary?
This got me to asking what is temporary, and when does temporary become permanent?
Christchurch’s earthquake-damaged stadium has been replaced with an apparently temporary $30,000,000 investment (yes, thirty million dollars).
Is that much money spent on any facility ever going to be a temporary fix, or is it is only as temporary time and money will allow? Will it be a long wait for a permanent construction to be raised?
As great as having a temporary facility may be, this temporary fix is looking very much like a sub-standard permanent arrangement.
‘Temporary’ provides many cupboards and hiding holes for those who don’t or won’t provide answers to questions asked. In researching this article I endeavoured to obtain a clear timeline, but those I needed to ask were unavailable while those I did manage to collar were evasive or deflective.
“Be grateful you have something,” I was generally informed.
After two years of rugby starvation, I am gratefuly. But when the gloss and euphoria wears off from opening night, the reality sets in of looking forward to a nagging cold Antarctic winter wind, to wet rain dripping down my neck, to the crunch of frosted grass and the discomfort of getting to and from the ground in July.
It makes me wonder how long I am expected to accept that this is only a temporary venue?
The park’s first game was brilliant. I love the great atmosphere of the Crusader horses charging around on a warm clear night, the crowd full of expectation; the grunting, snorting and liniment emanating from the players, all by being so wonderfully close to them; in fact, “It’s so real it’s almost like being there”, as the TV adverts of yesteryear would say. Ah, the boys were filled with happiness.
Yes, I am grateful that I can watch my footy again, but when I look over my shoulder at the wonderful, warm, cosy, facility of Dunedin, I wonder why there could not have been a little longer than the 100 days taken, a bit (nay a lot) more money spent to up put a permanent 40,000 stadium that would keep everyone warm and dry on the coldest of Canterbury nights. That would help entice us to every game.
Instead we are expected to endure a sail-clothed wind-tunnel for the next five years (that being the shortest amount of temporary time that I have heard to date). We are expected to be grateful, to stop moaning and to simply up with it.
Somehow, I think not. Until we move away from this broken city’s quick-fix mentality and build permanent structures that people will use, I may need to spit the dummy and revert to a temporary, five-year cosy, warm, Antarctic-wind-free lounge room, and give my TV a similar temporary five-year workout.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.