Semenoff Stadium Inspection & Repairs

Client: Whangārei District Council

Quick turnaround for stadium inspection and repairs

The award-winning Semenoff Stadium in Whangārei is Northland’s biggest stadium, hosting up to 20,000 people at major sporting events, concerts and festivals. For Whangārei District Council it represents a critical asset - one that must be available for scheduled events, and where public safety is paramount.

So when asset managers raised concerns about structural and durability issues at the facility, an urgent response was needed. GRIT was able to respond immediately, carrying out preliminary safety checks within a matter of days, before scheduling a full site inspection of over 600 anchor bolts in the steel-framed grandstand structure.

Pressure on for project team

With the stadium’s next event just four weeks away, the project team was under pressure to inspect, analyse and replace any corroded anchor bolts in time. Working closely with project partners United Civil, an intensive inspection schedule was drawn up to carry out spot checks within a short timeframe, and follow up with detailed investigation. This allowed the team to prioritise the worst cases, and gain confidence that the risk of further failure was low, without delaying repairs until all 600 bolts were inspected.

The job was further complicated with the discovery that the existing anchors were not as per the design drawings, and didn’t allow enough tolerance. So GRIT carried out independent seismic analysis of the precast concrete bleacher supports, allowing adequate replacement anchor bolts to be specified, and installed by the team at United Civil.

Lifecycle planning for future savings

After finding that water ingress in the bleacher joints had accelerated corrosion, the repair scope also needed to incorporate future upgrades that would improve durability, and consider maintenance requirements over the remaining life of the structure. With all of the bolts located at height and having to be removed for inspection, our recommended durability improvements will mean significant repair and maintenance savings across the lifespan of the asset.

Together with United Civil who carried out the physical removal and replacement works, and the experts at Sika who provided specialist technical advice, we were able to support WDC in ensuring the stadium was safe for use, and events could go ahead as planned.

Having appreciated our value-driven approach and capabilities with complex engineering projects, WDC more recently engaged GRIT again to peer review designs for a replacement roof for the stadium.

“We found GRIT to be very professional, responsive and competent. I felt we were in safe hands as GRIT engineers were practical and clearly focused on adding value. We would recommend GRIT for structural engineering and assessment projects on this basis.”

— Marie-Katrin Richter - Team Leader Major Projects, Whangārei District Council