In New Zealand, SkyCity’s convention centre deal negotiations are causing quite a bit of controversy. Ever since the potential deal was announced, the general public has expressed concerns about negotiations being kept quiet. Now, as SkyCity makes plans to expand, the general public wants answers. If you have not yet heard about the convention centre deal, it is quite simple.
The New Zealand government wants to build a new convention centre in Auckland. The construction of the site would cost $350 million, and local casino operator SkyCity volunteered to foot the bill – but only if they government would relax gambling laws. This would mean that SkyCity would be able to install up to 500 new poker machines at its Auckland location.
All negotiations happened behind closed doors, and the general public was not impressed with being left out of the process. Now, it seems that SkyCity continues to keep information from the local community. After a contractor leaked information that the casino would be expanding its casino floor in order to accommodate new pokies, politicians and citizens suspect that the deal has been approved in private.
"This whole deal has smelt from day one. If the Government has already told Sky City on the quiet that the deal will go ahead then it should also tell the public”, says Ruth Dyson, a spokesperson for the Department of Internal Affairs. However, SkyCity maintains its innocence.
The casino operator has admitted that it is making plans to expand the floor space of its Auckland location; however, this has nothing to do with accommodating more pokies. Instead, the expansion is simply to improve the customer experience, according to a spokesperson for the company. The operator also states that it will not make a final decision on the deal until the Auditor General’s report is published.
Since the report is now in the hands of ‘relevant parties’, it will not be long before the general public receives a consensus on the deal.
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