Council still has no clue what to do with Western Springs – Simon Laird
The future of Western Springs remains unclear as council plans spark a backlash. Photo / Getty Images
News that Auckland Council plans to meet on March 31, to agree on future plans for Western Springs Stadium, is tempered by the council’s announcement that the plan is to build a “Soundshell” and turn the stadium into a concert venue.
I’m sorry, but isn’t this the same Western Springs that was for decades Auckland’s pre-eminent concert venue?
Don’t major acts bring their own stage, lighting, video and sound systems when they tour? So why does the council plan to use more ratepayer funding to build a superfluous solution to a problem that doesn’t exist? After all, Western Springs has been largely unchanged for decades.
Does the stadium now require alterations and millions of dollars to turn it into what it always was? A natural bowl, perfect for events centred on the quarter-mile track surrounding the football field at its centre.
As the owner of the stadium, Auckland Council is quite rightly searching for opportunities to generate a return from the facility.
For decades, speedway at Western Springs happily shared the stadium, and if events clashed on a Saturday night, then speedway was postponed for a week.
For Auckland ratepayers, the ongoing saga surrounding Western Springs rankles greatly. After years or in fact decades of indecision and mixed messages, the ratepayer shareholders are now being told that “the Springs” could, with the expenditure of only a few million dollars, become what it has always been.
Speedway followers can only grin through gritted teeth and once again knowingly agree that the council never had a plan for “the Springs,” only that it should host anything but speedway.
The reasons for this have been largely lost over time, with the weak arguments around noise levels being used as a primary excuse. The fact that speedway promoters over a period of decades continued paying hundreds of thousands of dollars per season in rent, while conforming to the noise levels set by the council, seems to have escaped local body politicians.
Rock concerts of course don’t produce any noise worth mentioning. A quick scan of press releases from Auckland Council shows that they have now established concert venues not only at Western Springs but also at Eden Park, Mt Smart, the Albany stadium and Stanley St. Since the council doesn’t own Spark Arena, which is the only indoor venue of scale in our largest city, the competitive nature of concert venue bookings seems lost on the council, with quantity clearly exceeding quality.
Most owners of large venues would give their eye teeth for a promoter or event organiser willing to pay to host 20 events each year at their venue. That is exactly what speedway has done at Western Springs for more than 50 years, until the council advised it had a better idea.
Auckland City decided instead to relocate speedway to Waikaraka Park in Onehunga. Bear in mind that the council initially suggested shifting it to Mt Smart, to replace the Warriors, who would then happily share Eden Park with the Auckland Rugby Union. When that didn’t work, because the council doesn’t own Eden Park, it suggested Colin Dale Park behind Auckland Airport.
Despite the then Springs promoter promising a $5 million contribution to the build, the city had no money for a greenfield project such as this, and when news arrived that a new quarter-mile dirt track speedway in Sydney was costing $100m, there must have been panic in the council offices.
And so to Waikaraka Park we trudge. As the Warriors are to Eden Park, so are midget cars to Waikaraka Park. They are chalk and cheese, and while racers will race, the Waikaraka Park venue is a poor cousin. Situated next to the regional recycling centre, spectator enjoyment often depends on the wind direction.
Despite pit extensions and other superficial upgrades, not a single extra seat was installed for the spectators who were expected to attend after the $11m upgrade by the council. To this day, neither midget nor sprintcars appear on the Waikaraka Park website.
Despite Auckland City’s expenditure, Waikaraka Park still only seats 3000 people in 30- or 40-year-old dilapidated temporary seating. (The main stand was demolished in 2017). Western Springs comfortably seats 20,000 for speedway and nearly 50,000 for concerts.
And so, the Western Springs crowd has stayed away in droves. The pits can only accommodate half the competitors that the Springs can manage. The huge outer field carpark at Western Springs is replaced with graveside parking in Onehunga Cemetery.
I can go on about the positive effects speedway at Western Springs has on the automotive trade, the number of out-of-town visitors who travel to Auckland for speedway meetings and many other benefits.
Not to mention the international visitors and the speedway teams from Australia and the USA who have for decades travelled to the Springs to compete against the local talent.
Not just your average racers, but the very best in the world: A.J. Foyt in the 70s through to USAC champions such a Mel Kenyon, Sleepy Tripp and Rich Vogler in the 70s, 80s and 90s.
Current global superstars such as Shane van Gisbergen, who is winning in Nascar, drove a sprint car at the Springs in early 2025, and current Nascar Cup Series champion Kyle Larson has been a regular midget car competitor.
Western Springs has regularly attracted crowds of 10,000 or more for speedway, and don’t let the council tell you otherwise. As a regular attendee over more than 50 years, I can attest to the terraces being packed to capacity on numerous occasions every season for decades.
At present, the new speedway at Waikaraka Park is closed for remediation as the track has contaminated dirt on it. Any mention of a successful first season is tempered by the knowledge that the last few meetings have been cancelled and the largest planned event of the season, The North Island Sprintcar Championship, will likely be cancelled as well.
And so, where to next? In writing a critique, I believe that solutions should also be provided. Mine are simple and straightforward.
Auckland Council should do the honourable thing and restore speedway to Western Springs. The council has to date simply removed the crash fencing, safety lights and a small portion of the concrete fence, while grassing over the track surface.
I would suggest that restoring these assets would cost less than building a soundshell stage. Certainly, a promoter will book a full season of speedway events for the 26/27 season if the council changes the resource management requirements.
It will certainly be interesting when the Government changes the Resource Management Act and the courts review the justifications for previous decisions. If speedway was still at Western Springs, supporters might struggle to make a case, but with its forced removal to an inferior, smaller and unpopular location, the possibilities are hard to predict.
Under the circumstances, the council could do the right thing and restore the oldest – and popular – summer sport in Auckland to its rightful home.
Catch up on the debates that dominated the week by signing up to our Opinion newsletter – a weekly round-up of our best commentary.