Taranaki ratepayers are going to have to stump up an extra $10 million to fund a full rebuild of Yarrow Stadium.
The cost of the project, which is due to start at the end of the year, has ballooned by 40 percent to $70 million due to rising construction costs.
A first look at Yarrow Stadium's new design - the future home of Taranaki rugby. But with the new design comes a much higher price tag.
Its owner, Taranaki Regional Council, budgeted $50 million. That's blown out by $20 million.
"We see all sorts of construction sites over New Zealand having an escalation in costs, so we're not immune to that. We're exactly the same. We've got cost pressures on material purchases, even logistical challenges," Taranaki Regional Council chairman David MacLeod said.
Yarrow was declared an earthquake risk in 2017, the same year it last hosted an All Blacks test.
The following year it was announced it would be fully closed.
"Part of the fabric of the Taranaki community and yeah it's a blow for us all," former Taranaki rugby player Grant Paterson said.
The Government's chipping in another $10 million to help meet the cost shortfall, after already committing $20 million from its COVID recovery fund.
But the rest will have to come from ratepayers.
"We'll be paying that via extending the rate take. The targetted rate take for Yarrow Stadium, not increasing the rate take," MacLeod said.
Locals spoken to by Newshub weren't worried about the extra cost.
"Something which people would expect but still with the costs going up we have to accept it," one person said.
"I think it's needed for the city, to be honest, it draws a lot of people in. You need a big stadium in the province," another person said.
"There's a lot of work to be done to the Yarrow Stadium so it would probably cost a lot," a third said.
Rugby will return to the stadium in September with only the west stand open.
Work begins at the end of this year, with a 2024 completion date.
