$2.3 million Mount badminton stadium planned

Badminton has been given the all-clear to begin fundraising for a $2.3 million purpose-built "tin shed" stadium on a council reserve next to the Brewers Bar at Mount Maunganui.
Barring strong public opposition to changing the management plan for Soper Reserve, a 12-court stadium is planned to be constructed in Newton St within five years.
Tauranga City Council yesterday agreed in principle to lease a big section of the industrial reserve to the Bay of Plenty Badminton Association, provided the planning hurdles were cleared and badminton proved it could fund the project.
The vote was won 8-2, with Crs Rick Curach and Hayden Evans opposing.
Association president Delwyn Cooper said there were issues of lighting, ceiling heights and interior colours with the current stadiums. The growth of badminton had also struggled against restrictions imposed by needing to work around the demands for courts from other indoor sports.
She said they were able to build so cheaply because badminton's requirements were essentially for a "big tin shed" clad in colour steel and with a wooden floor on a concrete pad.
"It will be very, very basic."
The stadium would not even have air-conditioning because this affected the movement of shuttlecocks through the air and the building would have no windows.
However it will come at a cost to players. The council's stadiums cost between $4 to $6.30 per hour per court, depending on off-peak and peak usage.
Members playing in their new stadium would be charged $8 (off-peak) or $12 (peak) per hour per court, with non-members paying $14 and $21.
Council recreation manager Kiri Pope said the increased costs were a significant trade-off for playing in a fit-for-purpose stadium. A report to the council said the higher charges may have a "detrimental effect" on usage, particularly from social players and non-affiliated clubs.
Ms Pope said badminton had been counted as a potential casual user of the Sport and Exhibition Centre under construction at Baypark.
Mayor Stuart Crosby said the 6000sq m stadium and carpark at the northern end of the reserve would leave about 2500sq m of open space.
In reply to Cr Rick Curach discovering that Baypark was not one of the 18 sites considered for the badminton stadium, Mr Crosby said a lease for land at Baypark would be at a commercial $11,000 to $12,000 a year.
Instead, badminton would pay a sports club lease for Soper Reserve, starting at $1125 a year.
Cr Curach said badminton could take up the slack created in existing stadiums once the Sport and Exhibition Centre opened, arguing it was premature to leap into a specific site without further investigation.