Christchurch City Council and its insurer Civic Assurance have entered mediation to resolve the council’s $NZ900 million ($804 million) earthquake insurance claim.

The dispute preventing settlement – more than four years after the February 2011 earthquake – centres on damage to the city’s Lancaster Park stadium.

The ground – most recently known as AMI Stadium – hosted its first cricket match in 1881 as the home of the Canterbury Cricket Club. It is now abandoned and in disrepair.

The council says the stadium cannot be repaired and demands a payout of $NZ143 million ($128 million). Civic Assurance says the ground can be restored.

Civic Assurance is the trading name of the New Zealand Local Government Insurance Corporation and is 98.8% owned by 67 local government authorities – including Christchurch City Council, which is the second-largest shareholder.

Mediation was first flagged in April. At the time, Civic Assurance CEO Tim Sole defended the refusal to back down.

“Three independent international loss adjustment firms have each determined that the stadium can be restored for less than $NZ50 million ($45 million),” he wrote in The Press.

“Consequently, the reinsurers are most unlikely to agree to pay Christchurch City Council almost three times that amount just so the council can demolish the current stadium and build another elsewhere.”