Regional cycling centre gets green light

Funding saw a standalone Bay of Plenty proposal shelved early in the bid process, and now money again looms as the only potential sticking point after Waikato-Bay of Plenty yesterday got the green light to be the base for a new National Cycling Centre of excellence.
The centre is set to be built near Cambridge after the Waikato-Bay of Plenty region's bid was named as Sport and Recreation New Zealand's preferred venue.
Sparc will enter into talks with Waikato-Bay of Plenty over its proposal to build the new world-class indoor velodrome and, subject to agreement, it will be confirmed as the base on May 6.
The preferred bid will see the base situated next to St Peter's School on State Highway 1 on the outskirts of Cambridge. Originally seven bids were received from throughout the country.
But Hamilton City ($3 million) and Waipa District Councils ($3.5 million), are being asked to pay the bulk of the council funding and their support for the high performance cycling hub, which would include a velodrome, is yet to be confirmed.
Sport Bay of Plenty's commercial manager Stephen Murray said the bid group, which also included the likes of Dame Susan Devoy, Sarah Ulmer, Rob Waddell and Rotorua's mountainbike guru Dave Donaldson, had met every week since December putting the proposal together. It was obvious early in the process a standalone Rotorua-Tauranga proposal wouldn't get the capital backing to get off the ground, he said. They fended off competition from Palmerston North and Auckland, who were part of a three region shortlist.
"We've got until May 6 to pull the funding together and we're in the process of tightening that up now, but I'm confident."
Although it was unlikely any of the facilities planned for the centre of excellence would take in Western Bay of Plenty, Murray said the spinoffs for the city's leading cyclists were obvious.
"Whakarewarewa forest is obvious as the main (crosscountry and downhill) mountainbiking facility, and there's a new international-class BMX track being built near Cambridge, near Leamington, with the velodrome to be sited at St Peters.
"Whereas Rotorua and Tauranga's track cyclists have had to travel all the way to Invercargill to get to the nearest velodrome, now they'll be just 50 minutes over the hill. It will bring a high-performance culture to Western Bay of Plenty."
An economic impact assessment report put the cost of the proposed centre at $28.5 million and estimated it would take 18 months to build and create 120 jobs.
Sparc chief executive Peter Miskimmin said a national cycling centre of excellence would be a huge asset to New Zealand and was exciting for the continued development of the sport. The Government is contributing $7 million to the project.
A trust board would drive the project from here, chaired by Waddell and including Devoy and Paula Thompson from Tauranga.