“It brings the city alive, you feel the energy. People go out for lunch beforehand, they stay in a hotel, they go to the match – luckily, we won, so they went out and celebrated afterwards as well. And it lifts the whole spirit of the city.
“For us it was really proof of what we were trying to achieve by embedding ourselves into the city, and creating a club that Aucklanders were truly proud of.”
Auckland FC chief executive Nick Becker is a strong supporter of a bed levy as a source of funds for events in the city. Photo / Michael Craig
But he says Auckland needs more of it – and central and local government need to keep coming to the party.
Becker is scathing about National’s decision to axe a proposed bed levy and supportive of Mayor Wayne Brown’s push for it to fund events in the city.
“It makes complete sense. If you’ve got a huge number of hotel beds in the city, people who are staying in them generally are tourists, either domestically or internationally.
“If you are able to afford a hotel room, why couldn’t you pay an extra couple of dollars? It’s a pretty common practice around the world.”
He says he’s confused about the levy becoming a political football.
“Why would you not do it? I know David Seymour and Act have talked about it being another tax. I don’t see it that way.
“I see it if you’re willing to pay for a hotel room, you can pay a little bit of extra that goes back into the system and then funds events.
“That to me is a levy, not a tax, it’s a completely different thing.”
He said it was “disappointing” and “frustrating” it had been politicised.
“You have an American tourist come here and pay say $5. That then gets reinvested back into Auckland’s economy. How is that a bad thing for New Zealand and for Auckland? I don’t understand.”
Mayor Wayne Brown and Minister for Auckland and Local Government, Simon Watts, at the State of Auckland event at the University of Auckland city campus on August 26. Photo / Michael Craig
Brown is hopeful a bed levy will be back on the table post-election, blaming panicking politicians for the decision.
The bed levy U-turn has had a domino effect on other councils, with the three councils behind the Otago Central Lakes deal deciding to push pause on the signing of their regional deal with the Government.
Becker said the $70m Major Events Fund is a great success story, despite criticism over it funding concerts.
“We showed with the Spurs, and the Chelsea matches at Eden Park under the Football festival, which was funded by Government and council.
“That was a really good public-private partnership where the promoters put in their own money, the Government supported as well, and we put on a couple of fantastic events.
“It shows that people will turn up, they’ll pay the ticket money, and they’ll come to big events, and it brings a whole lot more to the city.”
Tottenham Hotspur players do a lap of honour after their side’s match against Auckland FC at Eden Park on July 26 as part of the New Zealand International Football Festival. Photo / Photosport
He said a bipartisan major events strategy was needed alongside that fund.
“You look at any of the major cities around the world, look at what Melbourne’s doing and has done so successfully for a very long time.
“There’s a real clear proof of success of major events in cities in Australia, and we should be replicating that, and we can’t do it without government funding.
“But that government funding needs to be done across strict criteria and a really clear multi-year strategy as well.”
He said he continues to talk to both Auckland Council and Government about that.
“We shouldn’t be worried about a new government coming in and wiping that out just because it was the old government. I think one of the problems with the political system in this country is it’s a three-year cycle, people get too worried about it and how do we actually plan on the long-term and bipartisan support on it.”
As well as a bed levy or charge, the strategy would include sports, music, arts and culture.
“I think we should be looking to partner with cities like Melbourne, with cities like Perth, have strategic alliances with them where we’re piggybacking off the back of what they’re doing as well.”
A multi-year commitment would also provide investors with confidence, he believed.
Auckland FC’s season launched this week.
“We’re defending champions. We’ve actually got a fantastic first four games. We play Melbourne City October 17th, and our next home game is a derby against Wellington, on election day, November 7th.
“People have got something to look forward to and games to go to and hopefully out there spending some money.”
Katie Bradford is a Senior Correspondent at the Herald. She has been a broadcast journalist for over 20 years and was based in the press gallery for 10 years. She specialises in politics, business and Auckland issues.