Otago Highlanders

[Big Dan]

Just saw on three news that in 2-3 years this team may not exsist due a staduim not been up to standard

Do you guys care about this

i for one hope they can stay in the Super 14

[Jantar]

To true rugby lovers, Carrisbrooke is up to standard for what it was designed for. ie Saturday afternoon rugby. The advent of professional rugby is killing te sport in Otago. Watching a live game on a sunny afternoon is great, watching the same game after dark in a -2 fog is not.

I would rather keep the Brook and go back to amatuer rugby than have a new stadium just so we can stay in the super 14.

[Deviant Esq]

It'd be a shame to lose the Otago team - and this is coming from a Cantabrian. Otago's always been a team of fighters, a team that will always give a tough game and never lie down. They've been one of the best teams in NZ rugby for many more years than we've had super rugby. The house of pain has a long history, and it's really not surprising to find that it's not up to international standards. Still, Otago / Dunedin deserves a flash new stadium to keep a team from the deep south in professional / Super rugby. Southern pride needs a team to support.

[Big Dan]

To true rugby lovers, Carrisbrooke is up to standard for what it was designed for. ie Saturday afternoon rugby. The advent of professional rugby is killing te sport in Otago. Watching a live game on a sunny afternoon is great, watching the same game after dark in a -2 fog is not.

I would rather keep the Brook and go back to amatuer rugby than have a new stadium just so we can stay in the super 14.

yeah and the brook has so many manys

the gold ol House of pain "house of taine"

Athletic park was a great park i watched the last IRB test there it was great bitter southerly pour with rain and great cheerleaders

[Jantar]

It'd be a shame to lose the Otago team - and this is coming from a Cantabrian. .

I don't think its the Otago team that they are talking about, its just the Highlanders. We would still have the Otago.

[Deviant Esq]

I don't think its the Otago team that they are talking about, its just the Highlanders. We would still have the Otago.

Yeah, I meant the Highlanders. They're still the Otago Highlanders, aren't they? It'd be a shame for southern rugby fans to lose them. Apologies for the miscommunication.

[JimO]

It'd be a shame to lose the Otago team - and this is coming from a Cantabrian. Otago's always been a team of fighters, a team that will always give a tough game and never lie down. They've been one of the best teams in NZ rugby for many more years than we've had super rugby. The house of pain has a long history, and it's really not surprising to find that it's not up to international standards. Still, Otago / Dunedin deserves a flash new stadium to keep a team from the deep south in professional / Super rugby. Southern pride needs a team to support.

as a ratepayer i dont see why the ratepayers have to stump up the major portion of the $$$ when the rugby union wont pay any, there is still no guarantee that the new stadium would get any of the world cup games, and its bound to cost double what they say its going to. Keep the origional brook i say

[Colapop]

I can't see it happening.That would leave one Super14 team for the whole of the South Island. It's bad enough the prospect of portions of the Super 14 teams being partially sold off...

[BuFfY]

Otago Highlanders, Oh thats our name
Otago Highlanders, Rugby is our game,
Otago Highlanders, Winning is our aim
Welcome to the house of pain!

How on earth could they think of getting rid of the best team in the world?!?!

[alexthekidd]

Geez but could you imagine if the top players flock to the Crusaders, more and more years of dominance on the horizon if that happened.

Can't see it happening anytime soon though

[MisterD]

Probably stirring by someone in favour of the idea of a North Harbour S14 franchise....the idea of not having a team based in Dunedin is just stupid.

[Colapop]

Geez but could you imagine if the top players flock to the Crusaders, more and more years of dominance on the horizon if that happened.

The top players have left. The last ones finished up this year...

Carl Hymen
Anton Olivier
Clarke Dermody...

[Virago]

The whole thing is just more stategically timed sabre-shaking, to scare the Dunedin ratepayers into building a new stadium, that the rugby corporates can then charge them to use. Beautifully timed, while a poll (of sorts) is being conducted by the Dunedin City Council.........

A $100 million plus stadium, for a town of 100,000 people - you do the maths. That's $4,000 for my family, added to my rates bill over the next 10 or 15 years. And the way the cost over-runs go, you can probably double that before the stadium is finished.

User pays - yeah right - it appears that those who can't afford to go to games, are now expected to subsidise those who can.......

[xwhatsit]

It's funny, how councils and political organisations often work (but especially councils). What they do, is they have in mind a scheme that won't go down well with voters. So instead of announcing that, they concoct another, fake scheme, that costs twice as much and is four times as inconvenient. Big outcry; all the talkback tards ring up, petitions get written, letters to the editor. So then, they say `oh ok, we listen to the public, how about this then?' and introduce the original scheme that they had planned, and everybody sighs with relief because that's not as bad as what they first said, is it?

Prime example being that fuel tax they talked about recently.

Sounds like somebody wants some funding, and they're scaring people with massive rates bills.

No way would the Highlanders be lost, for the precise reason Pepsipop mentioned, then there would be only one team for the whole mainland and that is just silly. Somebody would bail them out, the competition as a whole would suffer.

[Big Dan]

Its like the whole eden park thing was settle and now they have nothing to talk about so they think "hey lets get rid of the highlanders if ratepayers don't want to pay" what a crock of shit when the govt has all this surplus with no tax breaks insight with the cost of buying a house get worse and cost of living gets higher and now they wants you Dunedin folk to fork out close to 10 grand over 15 years i sympathize with you Virago