Quiet Shipping Container Architecture – A New Phase For This Discipline?
NZ Chiefs: Shipping Container Corporate Boxes at Waikato Stadium
Top New Zealand rugby team the New Zealand Chiefs are to have 14 shipping container corporate hospitality boxes installed just eight metres from the goal line of Waikato Stadium.
Liked or loathed by ordinary rugby fans, corporate hospitality is a major money earner for rugby teams – in the Chiefs’ estimate, some 75% of their income comes from sponsorship and corporate hospitality. As such, while it squeezes out the family supporters from one of the best bits of the pitch, there is a really good business case for investing in these corporate boxes and charging significantly more per seat than they would someone in outdoor seating.
Let’s have a look at the planned shipping container corporate boxes.
The hospitality suites
Fourteen new corporate boxes are to be installed near the goal line of the eastern, Tristram St end of the stadium. Each box will be able to sit 20 guests. The project will add some 280 new corporate hospitality spaces to the stadium, meaning for a decent increase in income for the rugby team. Each company that leases a box will be listed as a team sponsor.
Chiefs Rugby Club Commercial Manager Sean Austin said in a press release, “guests will literally be right on top of the action. The suites will provide a high-quality hosting space, a covered viewing deck, private access gate and covered walkway, as well as their own bathroom facilities.”
The modular units are made by a New Zealand firm called Ecotech Homes using their Multi-Pod modular construction system. According to the Ecotech website, “Smart design and careful attention to detail make our modular system technically advanced and robust. Our housing modules are manufactured overseas in a state-of-the art factory to Ecotech’s exact specifications and must meet rigorous quality and safety standards. The modules are specifically designed to be versatile, convenient and progressive.”
When the Chiefs applied for planning permission from the council, who also own Waikato Stadium, they were a little too honest and told the council that should the rugby team plan on leaving the town then they would take the corporate boxes with them as they assume full ownership. The whole project is set to cost a little over NZ$1.7 million, which is entirely paid for by the rugby team.
The modular aspect of shipping containers is very important – the units are fitted out off-site and then dropped into place at the stadium, saving a large amount of cash and stadium down time while the units are installed. They can be moved should the team find another town to host them in 2020 when their current agreement with the stadium runs out. The Ecotech website again: “Our accommodation modules can be built and installed in about 3-4 months, and are delivered fully finished, pre-wired, pre-plumbed, and with kitchen and bathroom fixtures.”
After some wrangling with the council, the planning application was approved and the project is set for completion ahead of the HSBC Sevens competition in 2019.
Does this trigger your imagination?
Here at Gateway Gazette we show the almost endless ways that shipping containers can be converted and reused. It might be a mansion or temporary accommodation, storage or a shop, bars, and we have even shown how a nuclear power station has been enclosed inside. Corporate boxes at a rugby stadium aren’t that much of a stretch of the imagination! Give our team a call today to discuss your needs – no matter how wild your idea may be, we’re sure we can help.
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