Tēnei te mihi ki a koutou i runga i te kaupapa o te rā
Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa
Minister Nicky Wagner
Members of Parliament Ruth Dyson and Nuk Korako
Consul General Jin
Sir Bob Parker
City Councillors
Members of the Spreydon-Cashmere Community Board
Members of the Board of Christchurch Adventure Park
The Project Developers, Select Evolution
The Project Construction Team
The Project Investors, including Mr Jianping Wang of Huadu International Group
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen
Welcome everyone. Thank you for being here.
Today we celebrate the official opening of the Christchurch Adventure Park, just 9 months after we gathered here for the first sod-turning on 3rd March. It’s incredible to see what has been accomplished in this time and I pay tribute to Fiona Sutton and the Select Evolution Team for having an ambitious target that they never wavered from.
In Christchurch we have always prided ourselves as having a great location– bordered by the coastline and the Canterbury Plains, close to the Port Hills and in sight of the mountains.
We are the international gateway to the South Island.
This Park takes our city to another level. It is the only purpose-built park of its kind in the world, it’s going to be open 365 days a year, and is the largest mountain bike park in the Southern Hemisphere - right here in this beautiful forest, only 17 minutes bike ride from the city or a 15 minute drive to the airport.
This Park makes Christchurch the mountain-biking destination in New Zealand, and one of the best anywhere in the world.
The Christchurch Adventure Park will have the longest chair lift in New Zealand, it has an incredible Zipline Tour and when the Mountain Coaster is delivered next year it will be the only one in the Southern Hemisphere.
The Christchurch City Council has been delighted to be a partner in this venture. It is a real public private partnership. This project alone has vindicated the Council’s decision to establish a development company so we could do things differently, Central Govt, Council through DCL and private investors both local and international.
Can I congratulate everyone behind this – particularly Fiona Sutton and the team at Select Evolution and of course the investment team – thank you for your commitment to our City and for your vision of the future.
I do want to acknowledge Mr Wang, Huadu and the New Urban Group – this is a wonderful project for you to be involved in. You are contributing so much to the City’s regeneration and this is a very special project which is very dear to my heart.
And thank you also to the advocates who got behind this project because they could see what it would bring to our city. And in that regard a special thanks to Cllr Tim Scandrett for introducing me to Fiona Sutton a more passionate and dedicated business woman I couldn’t imagine.
I remember Fiona telling me that on the days when she didn’t think the investment would be found, she would come and sit here in the forest and tell herself this just had to be. As Mayor of Christchurch I thank you for never losing the faith.
The Christchurch Adventure Park is going to be a tremendous asset for the people of Christchurch and Canterbury and for visitors it will be a wonderful attraction.
Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa