Hockey tournament 'offers huge potential' to region

David Nancarrow

The Festival of Hockey could be a game changer to the region if the event continues to grow and is televised by major broadcasters, say stakeholders.

Event director David Nancarrow said this year up to 2000 visitors were expected, some staying more than one week. He hoped for as many spectators each day for the Hawke's Bay Cup, the premier event.

If the average visitor stay was one week it would equate to an estimated $3.4 million impact on the region's GDP.

Hastings mayor Lawrence Yule said international television coverage offered the biggest economic potential.

Television needed "magnitude and quality".

"Hopefully this year we will do that. We got pretty close this year and we hope next year we can do that, especially into the Asian countries.

"The Champions Trophy, when it was played in Auckland, went to pretty close to 100 million people - that's the scale of what you can get and that is certainly an ambition."

It offered "to put us on the international stage".

"There are not many things we do that do that."

Mr Nancarrow said it would continue to grow, thanks to good infrastructure already in place.

"We have now moved to eight teams in the international event - we have eight of the world's top 13 teams here."

The school-age competition, the Furnware Cup, had extended from six to eight teams and there were plans to extend that "to a much bigger competition", but the main aim was a "premier world's-best international event".

Economist Sean Bevin of Economic Solutions said the school-age tournament was valuable for the region because it attracted family members.

"I have noted this for age-group soccer events held at Park Island, such as the annual Napier City Rovers-hosted national Under-19s tournament held over Labour Weekend each year," he said.

"National high school winter/summer sports tournaments are also valuable in this regard and well sought after."

Hawke's Bay Tourism general manager Annie Dundas said international teams tapped "an enormous" market of potential visitors thanks to internet streaming of games this year.

"When we look at the Indian numbers, from a broadcast point of view, they are huge," she said.

"The numbers to Hawke's Bay at the moment are small and a fairly large viewing audience will see a slice of Hawke's Bay."

She said the region benefited from the event's timing, after the "mad rush of summer and Easter".