New Zealand real estate magnate Richard Didsbury has resigned from the board of directors of SkyCity Entertainment Group in connection to a fire that destroyed parts of the Auckland development and caused evacuations and business closures around the site.
On October 22, the blaze broke out on the roof of the US$450 million New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC); according to media reports, Didsbury had been overseeing the project and the adjacent Horizon Hotel development project and was chairman of the board’s NZICC Committee.
He resigned in order to avoid any conflict with his role as chairman of the Northern Express Group, whose investors include the Accident Compensation Corp. and Public Infrastructure Partners II LP, ACCIONA Concesiones and NZICC developer Fletcher Building Ltd. SkyCity is searching for a new director to take Didsbury’s place.
Originally set to open in 2020, the International Convention Centre at SkyCity Auckland will now be delayed indefinitely. SkyCity confirmed it would be unlikely to host any events through 2021, including the 2021 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit due to be held in Auckland.
According to Radio New Zealand, Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) is exploring the idea of a temporary building at the construction site until the building is repaired and then completed. “People have been looking at the possibility of a pop-up in Auckland anyway,” said Auckland Council CEO Stephen Town.
But Councillor Linda Cooper cautioned, “Be really quite careful around what we spend on a pop-up and how long it lasts and to have a maintenance plan for a pop-up, seeing as we’ve already got one down on Queen’s Wharf.”
According to an October 27 report in the New Zealand Herald, the fire “began at lunchtime and by home-time Auckland was at a standstill” with traffic ground to a halt, businesses shut, and the public warned to stay inside.
With fire fighters en route, a construction worker was heard to say, “Shit, someone’s left a blowtorch on. On the roof.” Some news reports speculated that an apprentice worker may have left the blowtorch unattended when he went on a break.
In related news, another SkyCity upgrade—an AU$330 million renovation at the company’s Adelaide property—is designed to bring in more VIP players. SkyCity said attracting VIPs, who were worth around AU$60 billion in turnover nationwide in 2019, has been “historically challenging” in Adelaide due to a lack of accommodations and limited gaming facilities. New international VIP facilities will form part of the upgrades and position the property as “best in group and comparable to peers.”
Adelaide Casino currently attracts less than 1 percent of Australia’s annual VIP gaming turnover. The expanded casino, due to open in 2021, will include a 123 room all-suite boutique hotel, restaurants, bars and cafés, function space for 750 people, and a 1,500-space parking facility.
