Community and sporting groups are being offered the chance to acquire parts of Lancaster Park Stadium.

Christchurch City Council approved the deconstruction of the earthquake damaged stadium earlier this year on the understanding as much material as possible would be salvaged or recycled.

With deconstruction due to begin in December, the search is now on to find new uses for the parts of the stadium that can be saved.

“There are items within the stadium (such as chairs, tables, lighting fixtures, roller doors and gates) that could be put to good use by sporting or community groups,’’ says Darren Burden, General Manager of Vbase, the venue management company that owns the stadium.

“There may also be items of a more sentimental nature that different groups might have an interest in because they hold special meaning.

“Some groups have already approached us to say they are interested in parts of the stadium but we want to do this fairly and ensure all groups are given the chance to indicate their interest.

“We are going to do this through a Request for Information [PDF, 1 MB] process. Community and sporting groups will have until 4pm on June 23 to outline in writing what they want from the stadium and why.’’

Mr Burden says at the same time as that process is happening, expressions of interest will be sought from companies keen to be involved in the deconstruction of the stadium.

The deconstruction of the stadium is expected to take 12 to 14 months to complete. The Lancaster Park memorial gates, built to commemorate the Canterbury athletes who served in World War 1, will be protected and preserved during the deconstruction.

The Council made the decision to deconstruct Lancaster Park Stadium in March after a status report showed the cost of recommissioning it as a venue capable of hosting top international rugby tests would be in the order of $255 million to $275 million.

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