Sport Hawke's Bay recorded a net surplus of just under $140,000 for the year ended June 30, up more than $40,000 from the corresponding time last year.
In his report delivered at the annual meeting last night, Sport Hawke's Bay chairman Chris Tremain said it was "fantastic to see such a
healthy bottom-line". However, he said the consequence of the increased growth of the sports trust was that the Pettigrew-Green Arena was now no longer big enough to house the increasing number of staff needed to implement its programmes.
"Growth brings problems," he said. "We've grown like never before and in fact the coming year is likely to see turnover at Sport Hawke's Bay surpass $2.3 million. Just three years ago it was $1.5 million.
"The next year is also likely to see the staff grow to more than 50, which includes part-timers. Three years ago it was 35. We've already run out of space at the arena and are looking to expand the premises."
Mr Tremain said $60,000 had been ploughed back into the community, courtesy of the installation of development officers in five sports - tennis, rugby league, volleyball, badminton and squash.
But, he said, parochialism continued to hamstring the region.
"The sooner Napier and Hastings wake up to the fact that together they are much stronger than apart, then we will really be a force to reckon with," he said.
Without participation from the entire community, initiatives such as the Regional Sport and Active Recreation Strategy would never succeed.
"We now have key partners such as the councils, the DHB, iwi and EIT among a range of others pulling together towards a common purpose in the area of sport and active living," he said.
"The evolution of the Pettigrew-Green Arena is just the first example of what can achieved through collaboration."
* Three members of the board of trustees, Lois Dawson-Mikaere, Richard Hill and Fred Koenders, were re-elected for a further three-year term. Wairoa representative Rose Clarke has stood down after three one-year terms, meaning Sport Hawke's Bay is on the lookout for a representative from that area.
