A long-running saga over the renaming of the Napier Conference Centre has taken a new twist.
Napier Conference Centre Photo: Supplied
After removing itself from the debate, Napier RSA has stepped back into the ring saying its members would now be open to the idea of adding the word 'conference' to the building's new name.
Last month all councillors, except the Mayor, voted to return the venue to its original name, Napier War Memorial Centre, which was used in the 1990s.
It followed public outcry over a name change in 2017 to Napier Conference Centre.
But now new controversy has since erupted over whether the word 'conference' should also be included in the new name, and Napier RSA president John Purcell said they would be open to the idea.
In March, Napier and Taradale RSAs quit a working group charged with restoring the building saying their organisations were better represented outside of it.
Napier Mayor Bill Dalton argued it was too hard to market the venue as a conference destination without the word in its name.
A new council report now warned that failing to include it posed a 'significant risk' to the venue's viability.
"We are advised by experts in the field that it will be detrimental to our ability to market it," he said.
Attracting commercial users allowed the council to subsidise community usage of the venue, Mr Dalton said.
Napier RSA President John Purcell said his 3800 members voted for the name to be Napier War Memorial Centre.
"But I think they would be big enough to accept conference in the name," he said.
RNZ understands some local businesses who support the Mayor's call have been threatened on social media by those who disagree.
The War Memorial Recovery Group was lobbying for the word conference to be excluded, and the roll of honour and flame returned immediately.
Spokesperson Alan Rhodes said his members did contact some businesses to express their views, but they did not make threats and he did not condone such behaviour.
"There is significant anger in the community at what has happened over the last two years."
His group did not object to the venue being used for conferences, but it should not be in the name, he said.
"The building was built for memory and it's an insult to the soldiers who died," he said.
The report also warned the inclusion of 'war memorial' in the building's name has little relevance to today's conference market.
Officials said councillors needed to decide whether the building was a business or a community asset.
