Peter White: Winters of discontent linger at lack of good venue

Photo / John Borren

The two cricket internationals held at Bay Oval last week between the Black Caps and the clearly superior South African Proteas have rightly garnered widespread praise. I talked to players from both sides who rated the quality of the grass practice wickets, the outfield, pitch block in general, dressing rooms, viewing facilities in the pavilion and the catering. They also loved staying in apartments beside the main beach and the relaxed atmosphere of Mount Maunganui. The South African team management want a game back in Mount Maunganui on future tours.

The impact on the national and international stage was incalculable. A former team mate of mine in Worcester, England, raved about the pictures he was seeing on television, taken from the top of Mount Maunganui and along the beach. But there is no plan to cash in on the expected tourist numbers, not just from overseas but throughout New Zealand. Think what Hamilton City councillors felt seeing the free publicity after what they spend marketing the Waikato area. At least Hamilton has a switched on council and multiple sporting arenas to be proud of.

The success of the Bay Oval is due to the BOP Cricket Trust and corporate support. Clearly there is a desperate need for a winter code stadium based in Tauranga.

The initial cost is not what matters - it is the wider return of revenue from major events and the free marketing to entice visitors that we need to focus on.

Saturday's ITM Cup final drew 21,000 fans to Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth, with the winning Taranaki team proudly wearing jerseys adorned with Port of Taranaki as the naming sponsor. They transformed the grotty, old Rugby Park into something to be proud of - why can't that happen here?

At the 2013 Census, New Plymouth's population was 68,901 compared with 116,190 in Tauranga.

The embarrassment caused by the lack of a decent winter code stadium grows with every arrival of new residents to the Western Bay. The Phoenix, All Whites, Warriors, Kiwis, Chiefs and All Blacks would all play here in a decent stadium.

Cricket is leading the way and administrators like Kelvin Jones need to be recruited as consultants to future stadium plans in our region.

When floodlights are installed, Bay Oval will likely get one day-night international game every summer. But winter sports fans are missing out, while small towns like New Plymouth enjoy the benefits of hosting major events, the All Blacks and Chiefs.

Surely it is time to put this right.