We've been advising Christchurch City Council on the landmark $473 million Canterbury Multi-Use Arena (CMUA) project, a state-of-the-art arena that will replace the old Lancaster Park, which was destroyed in the earthquakes.

The project reached a major milestone this week with the announcement of a successful consortium to design and construct the arena. The consortium, called Kōtui, is led by Australian-based stadium construction experts, BESIX Watpac, and includes construction companies Southbase Construction and Fulton Hogan, seismic engineering specialists Lewis Bradford, architects Warren and Mahoney, and global stadium design experts Populous and Mott MacDonald.

Our involvement in this project is led by partner Michael Weatherall, special counsel Lisa Curran and senior solicitor Charlotte Kuhn. They were instrumental in developing an innovative early contractor involvement procurement methodology and associated contracts, tailored specifically for the project.

Kōtui will begin working on detailed designs of the CMUA over the coming weeks, ahead of early construction works beginning on-site in early 2022.