Govt contributes $2m to rebuilt Stadium Southland

Prime Minister John Key today announced the Government will contribute $2 million to Stadium Southland, fulfilling an undertaking he made when he officially opened the rebuilt facility in May this year.

“When I opened the stadium earlier this year, I said the Government would be prepared to help the Southland community with a contribution to reduce the rebuilt stadium’s funding shortfall,” Mr Key says.

“I said we would try to find a way to help a community that was helping itself, and Southlanders certainly seem to have done that. I’m advised the community’s Rattle the Tin campaign has now raised $1.3 million towards the stadium’s remaining funding shortfall of around $5 million.

“So in returning to Invercargill today, I am pleased to confirm the Government will contribute $2 million to what is an important facility for the Southland community,” says Mr Key.

The $43 million 4,000-seat Stadium Southland was rebuilt and upgraded after its roof collapsed under heavy snowfall in September 2010.