Rooms at a hotel and student hostel at Eden Park would overlook the field. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The release of fast-track application documents has revealed plans for a hotel and student hostel at Auckland's Eden Park stadium.
The description of the proposed Eden Park 2.1 project included a 105-bed boutique hotel and potential accommodation for 150 students.
The hotel would sleeve the stadium's North Stand and face Walters Road, "providing unique accommodation with rooms overlooking the field of play".
The exact location of the student accommodation was not mentioned, but the document did say the accommodation would be in conjunction with the University of Auckland.
Other components of the Eden Park 2.1 project, such as a retractable roof and pedestrian bridge from the Kingsland train station, were already well publicised and formed part of the Eden Park 2.0 project.
An increase in events was also mentioned in the fast-track application documents, growing from 25 per year to 45, including 12 concerts. The increase in concerts from six to 12 was recently approved by Auckland Council outside of the fast-track process.
Eden Park was shortlisted by Auckland Council as a contender for the city's main stadium, along with the proposed waterfront Te Tōangaroa/Quay Park stadium, which includes a hotel, shops, bars and restaurants.
Both short-listed stadiums were asked to submit a self-funded feasibility study to Auckland Council by February 2025.
Eden Park already offers accommodation in two glamping tents at the stadium, but the news of a fully fledged hotel came out of the blue, according to Eden Park Neighbours' Association chair Colin Lucas.
"That's taken me by surprise," he said.
He had attended community liaison group meetings, which were held regularly, and there had been no mention of plans for a hotel or student accommodation.
Without further detail about the plans he was not willing to comment on specifics, but he said that the comings and goings of hotel-related vehicles may increase traffic in the area.
The addition of 150 more residents in the area due to student accommodation was not necessarily a big deal, he said, as if Eden Park was not there, the land would likely be developed for housing.
Until concept drawings were shared, he said it was impossible to form an opinion on the impact of the proposed accommodation.
Eden Park Trust did not answer RNZ's questions regarding how long the hotel and student accommodation had been planned, but sent a statement saying the Eden Park 2.1 project was a "gateway" to investigate complementary use of infrastructure and spaces. A "precinct" approach was being developed.
"The Eden Park Trust will continue to explore a range of potential components while delivering the planned enhancements that will ensure we have a stadium that meets the future needs of Auckland and New Zealand," the statement said.
The trust did not say how it planned to pay for the developments.
The fast-track application document, which was submitted between April and May, said the trust was working on a business case.
A milestone hoped to be reached was confirmation of funding guarantees, third-party capital contributions or similar. The expected completion of the development was listed as 2028 to be in time for the T20 Cricket World Cup
In May, Eden Park Trust chief executive Nick Sautner told the Environment Committee hearing submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill that the vision for Eden Park was to redevelop the north and west end of the stadium and add a retractable roof. He did not mention the hotel or student accommodation in his presentation.
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