26 October 2010
From rubble to rebuild at Stadium Southland
If a picture paints a thousand words, Ryan Sycamore has an encyclopaedia regarding last month’s Stadium Southland collapse.
The Operations Coordinator, who has worked at Southland’s sporting hub for over a decade, donned hard hat and safety gear to accompany engineers into the crumpled building and capture images of the damage.
He’s managed to catalogue the entire process so far – from rubble to rebuild.
“It was a very surreal feeling being inside your workplace for the last 10 years with parts of it almost unrecognisable,” Sycamore said.
On duty the day of the collapse, Sycamore was called off-site and, when he returned just 10 minutes later, was greeted with sheer devastation. He then had the unenviable task of alerting his boss, Stadium Southland general manager Nigel Skelt.
Sycamore’s younger brother, Brad, and Roey Bugden were the staff members inside at the time the roof caved in under the weight of heavy snow.
The trio will all be onsite to share their experience with members of the public at an Open Day this Saturday from 12pm to 3pm.
A montage of photos, including Sycamore’s, will enable visitors to view the damage from a unique perspective.
“People have seen the front of the building and the wall tipped in but they don’t realise the true extent of the damage,” Sycamore said.
“Those who have seen the photographs are actually really surprised by what’s it was like and found it really interesting.”
The Open Day will also feature a Remembrance Wall for people to write on.
“For us, it’s a starting point – it’s the beginning of a new era,” Skelt said.
“But it’s also important to satisfy people’s curiosity or give them an opportunity for closure – Stadium Southland has played an important role in our past and will be integral in our future.”
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