AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park focus. Wed 22.06.11. Four months post 22.02.11 Killer Quake, I trekked roads around Christchurch's AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park ghost for the first time since the June 13 Quake, M6.3, another liquefaction quake.
Parked my car on Wilsons Rd, close to Ferry Rd cnr & trekked around AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park ghost: liquefactioned Stevens St, FalsgraveSt, Lismore St, back to Wilsons Rd.
Like post Feb 22 Killer Quake, grey quakemire was still in gardens, along roadsides, pavements, driveways. Some businesses around AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park were open, some ghosts, some relocated due to damages.
22.06.11. White, plastic, tape cordon. June 13 quake, liquefactioned house opp AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park , Stevens St
A cold winter morn, grey sky, time I snapped before grey quakemire was cleared again. Soon post Feb 22 Killer Quake, I'd driven around AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park ghost, seeing liquefaction damages, but didn't stop.
22.06.11. Blue portaloo. Feb 22 quake & June 13 quake, liquefactioned AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park, Stevens St
22.06.11. June 13 quake, liquefactioned businesses near AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park, Stevens St
In the 16 years I'd lived in Christchurch, AMI Stadium had other names: Originally Lancaster Park & Jade Stadium, depending on owners, or advertisers. Presently liquefactioned Kelly Motors, Lismore St, advertised prominently on liquefactioned AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park. AMI was an insurer, but stadium turf wasn't insured! (Mainland Press 22.06.11).
22.06.11. June 13 quake, liquefactioned businesses near AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park, Stevens St
AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park was recently returned to Council ownership, after Vbase events company lost Town Hall, Convention Centre & AMI Stadium to quake closures, resultant non events & big debt.
22.06.11. June 13 quake, liquefactioned Stevens St / Falsgrave St near AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park
22.06.11. June 13 quake, liquefactioned businesses near AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park, Falsgrave St
Ratepayers would have to pay AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park revamp debt, $45 million (Christchurch Mail). Post Feb 22 Killer Quake, Vbase lost Rugby World Cup 2011 fixtures, due to liquefaction damaged AMI Stadium. So other NZ cities benefitted from Christchurch quake losses.
Not everyone living in Christchurch was interested in rugby or benefitted from rugby. Why must ratepayers for years hence pay rates to bail out Vbase managers & rugby managers too stupid to insure their own turf?
Dec 2015. The Press would report that Council would be paid a global $635 million to cover Christchurch Council's quake damaged assets. Council was so dumb under mayor Dalziel, Council let insurers off paying $285 million insurance shortfall out of $920 million total claim. Never mind pre-quakes Council had under-insured Council assets. That stupidity would burden Christchurch ratepayers for decades hence regarding inflated costs for a new stadium.
22.06.11. June 13 quake, liquefactioned Lismore St near AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park
22.06.11. June 13 quake, liquefactioned businesses near AMI Stadium / LancasterPark, Lismore St
22.06.11. June 13 quake, liquefaction mud cleared from Lismore St pavement by AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park
22.06.11. June 13 quake, liquefactioned AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park, Lismore St
Lismore St: Passed a rubbernecker sneaking through an AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park back gate, but he was turfed out by a security bloke. Another security bloke, in yellow, Hi-Vis jacket, hovered by locked gates, Lismore St / Wilsons Rd. Another security bloke, in yellow, Hi-Vis jacket, patrolled Stevens St by locked gates. What were they hiding?
AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park ghost would stand locked, closed for years, while authorities dithered about strengthening & raising concrete stands, with new fangled engineering.
22.06.11. June 13 quake, blue portaloo & rubbernecker, liquefactioned back gate, AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park, Lismore St
22.06.11. DANGER KEEP OUT. White, plastic, tape cordon. June 13 quake, liquefaction volcanoes on grass by AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park, Lismore St
22.06.11. June 13 quake, liquefactioned businesses, Lismore St
22.06.11. June 13 quake, green portaloo & liquefactioned housing, Wilsons Rd near AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park
22.06.11. June 13 quake, liquefactioned Wilsons Rd by AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park
22.06.11. White, plastic, tape cordon. June 13 quake, liquefaction mud by AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park, Wilsons Rd
22.06.11. Feb 22 quake & June 13 quake, tilted AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park, Wilsons Rd
Lismore St / Wilsons Rd: Viewed from the white, plastic, tape cordon, AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park had a distinct lean. High concrete panels were tilted with L shape cracks between.
I snapped that concrete panel / tilt slab damage all over Christchurch. After quakes, most concrete panels or tilt slabs looked OK, but were pulled apart by quakes, gaps between. Some gaps so big, I could put my hand through. Sealer between concrete panels / tilt slabs was stretched, parted by quakes. Having trekked damaged Christchurch for 9 months I was familiar with damages: smashed, cracked ground, smashed roads, smashed bridges, smashed infrastructure, smashed bldgs, smashed retaining walls, rubble, masonry wall cracks: vertical, horizontal, diagonal. More masonry wall cracks: zigzag, jagged, X shape, L shape galore. The latter two formed at mortar joins where the crack followed mortar breaks in a series of L shaped steps. When I saw X & L shaped wall cracks, I thought of Durban's XL Tearoom, South Beach, where I used to bodysurf.
22.06.11. June 13 quake, liquefactioned housing by AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park, Wilsons Rd
22.06.11. June 13 quake, liquefactioned AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park, Wilsons Rd
I saw several grey liquefaction volcanoes on AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park perimeter grass, Lismore St & Wilsons Rd sides. Ami Stadium / Lancaster Park pavements were cleared of grey mud. AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park was dead, gates closed, locked, useless since the Feb 22 Killer Quake. MMVIII was etched on a high concrete wall on new stands.
Wilsons Rd: Colourful portaloos were on the pavement. A blue, sewage, sucker truck was parked below the stands. Memory of AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park that morn: grey sky, grey mud, grey stadium, grey pavements, grey roads. Deadly. Cold.
22.06.11. June 13 quake, Wilsons Rd / Stevens St by liquefactioned AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park
22.06.11. June 13 quake, grey portaloo by pub, Wilsons Rd / Stevens St by AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park
22.06.11. June 13 quake, liquefactioned housing near AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park, Wilsons Rd near Ferry Rd
*Trekked Wilsons Rd, Stevens St, Falsgrave St, Lismore St. 104 snaps.
Coda:
Early 2012: Costing $30 million, former Rugby League Park stadium, Addington, would be converted to "new" AMI Stadium for Crusaders to have a home again. (The Press 30.04.12). Thereafter most of Crusaders' "home" games would be played out of Christchurch.
2012-18. AMI Stadium / Lancaster Park would be closed.
2018-19. Ami Stadium / Lancaster Park would be demolished. Rugby fans would wait for years for CERA's Blueprint stadium to be built between Madras St & Barbadoes St.
2022. The 30 000 seater Stadium had not been built yet on Turners & Growers site between Barbadoes St & Madras St. Never mind Covid-19 pandemic in the interim. Only construction site fencing, extinct road closures & foundation work had begun! There were arguments whether the stadium should be 25 000 seater or 30 000 seater? And arguments whether the new stadium should have a roof for rugby / events spectators to be cosy on cold winters' nights.
Content & pics Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.
Awesome I’ve worked in this area for 16 years or so and loved seeing the pics thanks
ReplyDeleteNow that Ami Stadium is demolished we await Blueprint build of the new stadium between Madras St & Barbadoes St.
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