“We know the consultants leading the study have already met with a diverse range of potential user groups who would hugely benefit from our city having an indoor centre.
“The fact that 283 survey responses have been received to date is a significant endorsement of our community’s need for such a facility (given the overwhelming majority of responses are in favour).
“This backed up the great turnout we saw at the recent rally for an indoor centre. Our region’s current indoor court provision is dire, and after decades of attempts to get what every other city and large town in the country has, we’ve reached the point where the excuses have to stop and the indoor centre is made a reality.
“We know it is challenging given all of the critical infrastructure needs in our region post the cyclone. However, somehow we need to find a way to also invest in the wellbeing of our people.
“We saw after Covid and the cyclone the absolute desire and need for so many in our community to reconnect and get active doing the things they love.
“It’s not a nice-to-have; it’s a must-have. Roads and houses are easy to see, but we also need to look after people’s physical and mental health — their hearts and minds. And let’s not forget about our tamariki and rangatahi.
“There is also the opportunity for the indoor centre to provide economic benefit for our region. The right facility (even with a strong focus on function over aesthetics) could be used to host a range of tournaments and conferences, which would inject much needed revenue into our accommodation, hospitality, and retail sectors. How strong is our tourism offering over the autumn and winter months currently?
“We look forward to the completion of the community engagement and the feasibility study. We need to ensure though, that as a region we are united in prioritising and seeking the support for this project at a national level.”
Gisborne District Council has commissioned a feasibility study and aims to have a draft report completed and available for public review by April.
“This feasibility will capture demand, decide the most workable site, create a functional design layout and provide a high-level cost estimate,” a council report said.
“A site visit was recently completed by the consultant and the framework for community consultation is being finalised.
“We’ve released a community survey design to help us understand our community’s usage, desires and perspectives relating to the existing indoor multi-purpose centres and seek ideas for future opportunities. To date we’ve received 135 survey responses which shows a positive level of engagement.”
A steering group made up of representatives from key stakeholder groups and mana whenua is now in the progress of being set up and will help drive key decision points on the project.
A business case study, done on behalf of GDC, Trust Tairāwhiti and Sport Gisborne in 2022, suggested an indoor sports hub could be located at Waikirikiri Park and comprise three-to-five indoor multi-purpose courts to accommodate varied codes and groups, a move centre/gym sports space, climbing/bouldering wall, shared clubroom hub, outdoor recreation space and play zone, the retention of outdoor softball facilities and two full-sized fields with lighting at an estimated cost of $45.1m to $53m.
It also found that 10 out of the region’s 19 indoor facilities were older than 44 years, which is past the 40-year life expectancy of such facilities, meaning they would need renovating or replacing simultaneously.
