SkyCity conference centre has all the charm of the East German Stasi HQ

7
4

This is the East German Stasi Headquarters…

SPECIAL MAIL ON SUNDAY; A file photo dated 05 January 1994 showing the former East German secret police 'Stasi' headquarters in Berlin.
SPECIAL MAIL ON SUNDAY;
A file photo dated 05 January 1994 showing the former East German secret police ‘Stasi’ headquarters in Berlin.

…and this is the SkyCity conference centre…

NZICC_HobsonStreetView_620x310

…they are as equally architecturally charming as an abattoir for the poor. That we have rewritten gambling laws, sold off Government land on the cheap and ended up with an expensive eye sore that has all the nuance of a cargo container is just another upper cut to the face of NZ.

Watching the PM pimp for a Casino is bad enough, but looking at this uninspiring hovel for the rest of our lives is more depressing than the problem gamblers we’ve sacrificed for it.

Unknown

Ugly in every sense of the word.

7 COMMENTS

  1. This whole thing has stunk from the start. Expecting something good to come out of it, at the end, is being optimistic.

    • Yes this deal smelt as bad as the Saudi Arabia “give a farm away with real free sheep deal” that McCully had difficulty explaining today under consistent pressure from David Parker today!

      It is a definite watch as the McCullys eyes looking around wildly like a possum in the headlights, only supported by a weak hurray by a few NatZ. He is on the wire here.

      This country is now becoming a target of these overseas bullies which is welcomed by the foreign owned National Government.

  2. Sorry Bomber you’ve lost me on this one. The NZICC design looks absolutely nothing like the East German Stasi headquarters, and if you can’t see that you need stronger glasses. The new building looks a damn sight better than most of the other stuff around it on Hobson St too, if you’ve been for a walk down there recently.

  3. Gads…more architectural wankery like that being inflicted on Christchurch.

    Do architects get all their inspiration from ice cube trays?

  4. They need to forget the whole conference malarkey and just open it as a treatment centre for problem gamblers. At least that way the taxpayer might get their money’s worth.

    • Wensleydale, given that we taxapayers aren’t paying for it that would be pretty easy. And while I have no issue with you giving Sky a hard time, what about all the other gambling in NZ? Lotoo? The track? TAB? Slots in the pubs and clubs? Or just them?

      • I’m not against gambling, Ben. I’m not the morality police and, despite what you may think, I do believe in a measure of personal responsibility. Gambling’s not my bag, but if other people are so inclined, more power to them. Everyone’s a grown-up after all.

        I have, however, had to deal with the social fallout of problem gambling, and so I’m keenly aware of just how destructive it can be for everyone involved. When you’re forced to have awkward conversations with landlords because individuals who were supposed to pay the rent, instead pissed it all away on the pokies, the awful reality of the situation is driven home to you in short order. It erodes trust, it causes hurt and humiliation and it obliterates relationships and traumatises children. It is, in every sense, a societal blight no less damaging than methamphetamine.

        But gambling, and pokies in particular, makes a lot of money for a lot of people. And because those people shower racing trusts and rugby clubs with the scraps from their table via the Lottery Grants Board, we’re led to believe that it’s really not all that bad. These charitable gestures keep the do-gooders at bay, and set communities against each other when it comes to any discussion about problem gambling — which, I suspect, is the intent all along. “We’re not bad people; we gave that low decile primary school cash for all that new sports equipment. Because we care.”

        And we will pay for the convention centre, Ben. Not in dollars and cents, but in the misery perpetuated as a result of an additional 230 pokie machines on which Mum and Dad can fritter away this week’s grocery money. Trust me. I’ve seen it happen. The gaming rooms here in South Auckland are depressing hovels that reek of desperation, and the players can get quite antagonistic when Lady Luck fails to favour them. Sky City are many things, but stupid is not one of them. The house always wins after all, and you can guarantee that our casino barons would never have entertained the idea of ‘gifting’ the good people of Auckland a convention centre if it wasn’t in their best interests to do so.

Comments are closed.