One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha is a world-class, multi-use Sports and Concert Arena in central Christchurch. Designed to replace the earthquake-damaged Lancaster Park, the Arena will accommodate up to 30,000 spectators under a fully covered roof. Once complete, it will provide a state-of-the-art venue capable of hosting premier rugby fixtures, including All Blacks and Crusaders games, alongside major national and international concerts and events.
This development is a cornerstone of Christchurch’s post-earthquake regeneration, reconnecting the city’s sporting and cultural identity while delivering a modern, flexible facility built to international standards.
Services provided
WT provided cost management services including:
- Masterplanning options for the Stadium Trust
- Feasibility and affordability budgets for Christchurch City Council
- Assisting with RFP documentation including the Pre Contract Services Agreement for Christchurch City Council
- Detailed estimating, cost planning and Quantitative Risk for Besix Watpac
- Measurement and preparation of the Schedule of Quantities for Besix Watpac
- Value engineering support and cost optimisation for Besix Watpac
- Major variation assessment for Besix Watpac
- Whole of Life costs for Venues Otautahi
Challenges
One of the key challenges of One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha has been managing the complex stakeholder environment inherent in a high-profile civic development of this scale. The project involves coordination between the Contractor, Christchurch City Council, and a range of specialist consultants, all operating within a tight urban site and a politically visible context. Balancing transparency, accuracy, and responsiveness across multiple commercial and governance frameworks required meticulous communication and disciplined cost control.
Our role demanded not just technical precision but also the ability to translate complex financial data into clear, actionable insights for both public and private stakeholders. Establishing and agreeing a fixed pricing lump sum to give Christchurch City Council cost certainty in a politically sensitive, overheated market was an exceptional challenge that required sensitive commercial consideration.
Successes and value added
Our contribution to the project has centred on creating clarity and confidence through collaboratively working with Christchurch City Council and Besix Watpac. By establishing a consistent, data-driven framework, we enabled Besix Watpac and the Councils Price Verifier to monitor project budgets, manage risk, and make informed decisions in real time. This transparency strengthened stakeholder trust and provided a clear line of sight between design, cost and programme outcomes.
We worked closely with Besix Watpac with all BIM models and established a framework that allowed ease of quantification for the entire project. Establishing requirements in the BIM implementation plan that were clearly defined for all design disciplines to follow greatly contributed to the smooth adoption of work in progress design information and live cost planning throughout the design process.
