Steamers pre-game fun in Tauranga CBD

Bay of Plenty Steamers fans had plenty of fun off the field in Tauranga CBD ahead of the yesterday's match.

Before the Bay of Plenty Steamers took on the Taranaki Bulls at Tauranga Domain, the city centre was hopping with activities for fans - as part of the council's Fans in Town initiative.

Masonic Park morphed into a fun fan zone with face painting, entertainment and live music.

Tauranga City Council event delivery coordinator Luke Schroder said at least 500 people had come to the park between 11am and 2pm.

It was a great way to bring people to the CBD ahead of the game, he said.

"It's in support of the rugby at the Domain. People come into town, have lunch, be entertained and listen to live music for free and then walk up to the Domain for the big game," Mr Schroder said.

Local musical performers took to the stage and as friends, fans and families got pumped for the upcoming rugby match they were treated to the sounds of Ben Mollison, AhJeez, Tauranga Samba, Georgia Lines and FUSE Street Drummers.

AhJeez recently beat 700 other competitors to secure a place in the top eight for Smokefreerockquest. The funk-blues band made up of Year 13s from Bethlehem College and Tauranga Boys' College would be performing in Auckland in September.

Circus in a Flash had people entertained with juggling and stilts, letting kids (and adults) try their hand.

Fans in the Park was a partnership between Tauranga City Council, BOP Rugby, Downtown Tauranga and local businesses.

It would be back for the next home game, when BOP Steamers took on Otago in the Mitre 10 Cup on September 4.