Editorial: Wrong to sell green areas

Matt Minnell from Jetsprint BOP oversees the pumping of water into the Bay Park venue. Photo: John Borren

Tauranga is upping its game with the number of high profile events being held in the city increasing.

The jetsprints attracts a huge crowd each year. This year, ASB Arena has hosted Jimmy Cliff and Six60. The Seekers are also set to perform there later in the year and the Beach Boys this week announced their only New Zealand gig would be at the arena.

There is such good work being done to liven up the city and attract people to live and visit here but the council is now considering selling some, or all, of Soper Park - the land behind Brewer's Bar which is used for concerts throughout the summer.

I used to live not far from the park and most weekends throughout summer you could hear music coming from the stage set up outside the bar.

It's an iconic gig location at the Mount, particularly among the younger generation, and hosts many well-attended concerts throughout the summer.

Brewers Bar manager Glenn Meikle said the bar brought 10,000 people to the park every year to listen to music.

Surely that's worth more than the short-term benefit of selling off the land.

Councillor Matt Cowley has stood up against the proposed sale saying it was a "critically important space". It would be short-sighted to sell the whole reserve just to help the council pay back some debt. It may help in the short term but as the city grows and requires more parks and event space it will become a valuable resource for the council.

We want to attract more people to the city - particularly young people who are going to set up their lives and raise their kids in the region.

The council has realised the importance of events and has more than double its events funding to $7.7 million during the next 10 years.

We need to make sure we have the space to hold those events.

Mr Cowley pointed out Mount Maunganui's two main events spaces, Coronation Park and Blake Park, were in huge demand so there needed to be other venues which could be used.

We need to take every opportunity to make Tauranga a vibrant city.