Baypark roof 'boost for Steamers fans'

Bay of Plenty Rugby has welcomed the $850,000 decision to roof Baypark's western grandstand, saying it will make a huge difference to Steamers fans.
Chief executive Mike Rogers said it will help weather-proof games and ease crowd management logistics across the entire stadium during pre-match and at half time.
Rugby was one of the big winners from the project because it meant that fans could come straight out from the large corporate lounge and be under a roof for the best seats in the house.
Baypark general manager Ervin McSweeney said the project was part of the renaissance for the whole of Baypark, with the new nine-court indoor sports and events centre set to open by late August.
"All the users were concerned that the best seats in the house were the most vulnerable to the weather," he said.
Tauranga's Mayor Stuart Crosby said the two-stage project would go a long way to future-proof the stadium and ensure it was competitive.
Mr Crosby said a lot of planning had taken place for Baypark's future by Tauranga City Venues Ltd (TCVL), the council-owned company which runs Baypark. Mr Crosby is a director of the company.
With $500,000 of the funding coming from a Lion Foundation grant, Mr Crosby said the repayments on the $350,000 loan from the council would not fall on ratepayers, even if the company continued to trade at a deficit.
He said Baypark's revenues had not come in as predicted but it was very close to the budgets presented to the council.
Mr Crosby says a new strategic direction will be presented to the council, including new budgets that reflect the global financial situation and the lack of events booked for Baypark.
"A lot of work is going on behind the scenes to get Baypark on to a sound financial footing," he said.
Higher level sports like Super 15 had been a factor in the decision to roof the rest of the stadium. "It is about pricing for tickets and we lose a lot of revenue from the unroofed area," Mr Crosby said.
The unroofed stand was not a factor in TCVL's decision last year to withdraw its bid to host the Australasian round of Speedway Grand Prix - the world speedway motorcycle championship, he said.
Mr McSweeney says the roof will enable people who hire the stadium to generate a better income, which in turn meant TCVL got more income.
He said Marra Construction, which won the contract, had started digging the foundations for the roof structure.
When completed, all of Baypark's 17,500 permanent seats will be covered. The new roof was not designed to cover temporary stands on the speedway track.
Stage one of the project, from the northern Gate 1 to the speedway entrance, is due to be completed for the April 15 Chiefs versus Crusaders Super 15 match, expected to become the biggest event in the stadium's history.
Mr McSweeney said stage two to the southern Gate 2 would be completed "in the following months".