Over the course of the past few months, SkyCity and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key have been negotiating a deal whereby SkyCity will pay for the construction of Auckland’s new $350 million convention centre in return for 500 new poker machines at its Auckland casino location. The announcement of the deal was met with a great deal of resistance from the general public, leading to a delay in the process. Now, SkyCity is getting impatient, which may jeopardize the deal altogether.
The pokie-convention centre deal would mean that tax payers would not have to absorb the cost of the construction of the venue. This would ultimately save local Auckland and New Zealand residents millions in tax dollars; however, SkyCity may back out of the agreement if the government continues to take its time.
Delaying the process is an investigation that is being carried out by the Auditor General, requested by The Greens. The audit has taken 6 months (twice as long as the average audit), and even more delays will push its release into the new year.
“I don’t think we can sit here forever and wait for it, quite frankly,” says Nigel Morrison, head of SkyCity. “If it drags on forever, I imagine it is in neither parties’ interest”.
If SkyCity bails on the deal, the government will be back at square one, searching for another investor for the construction of Auckland’s new convention centre. Otherwise, it will be up to tax payers to foot the bill.