Cake Tin a rust bucket

ANTHONY PHELPS/Dominion Post

RUST NEVER SLEEPS: Rusting steel screws and bolts have been discovered in the external wall of Wellington's Westpac Stadium.

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Westpac Stadium bosses are calling in engineers after discovering the $130 million building is suffering from rust damage.

Just eight years after the 34,500-seat sport and concert venue was built near Wellington harbour, corrosion has been discovered on the its external walls.

The problem is believed to be linked to use of the wrong screws and bolts in the venue's original design.

An investigation is under way to identify the extent of the problem and the potential replacement costs.

The stadium is owned by an independent charitable trust and was funded by loans and rate levies made on Wellington regional ratepayers.

Wellington Regional Stadium Trust chief executive David Gray said he was confident most of the work would be covered by a warranty - though it was "way too early to talk about blame".

Commercial negotiations with contractors would remain confidential.

"Some of the screws have rusted that are holding in some of the panels and they have to be replaced," he said. "I just think it's part of owning a fairly major building on the edge of the waterfront.

"A huge amount of work was done on what products to put there because everyone was aware of the environment. That's why we got warranties to ensure that they did the job and that's why we're confident that we've got it covered."

Mr Gray said the rusting steel screws and bolts were detected during maintenance checks about six months ago.

He was unsure how widespread the corrosion problem was but said the faulty material was covered by a 15-year warranty.

The investigation would take several months.

Stadium officials would hold talks with contractors Fletcher Construction and Aquaheat over who should foot the repair bill.

Mr Gray said the trust already invested about $500,000 a year in maintenance and spent up to $800,000 a year on other enhancement projects, such as upgrading facilities.

The corrosion is not the first weather-related maintenance problem at the $130 million stadium.

About 1400 fabric seat covers in corporate boxes were replaced in the past two years because of sunlight damage.

The covers were also under warranty but the trust contributed about $20,000 to fix the problem, Mr Gray said.

The trust's latest annual report shows the stadium earned nearly $16 million in gross revenue in the 2006-07 year - about $500,000 less than the previous financial year - and had repaid $1.65 million in debt.

The stadium hosted 39 events and attracted 483,000 attendees - 24,000 fewer than in 2005-2006 - which reflected a downward national trend in attendance figures for New Zealand stadiums.

It has posted a $2 million surplus but expects next year's surplus to drop to $1.1 million as the stadium faces increased investment costs before the 2011 Rugby World Cup.