Palmerston North's Billy Meehan: City a major New Zealand sporting hub

Submissions to the 10-Year Plan have told elected members facilities for swimming, canoe polo and water polo are nearing capacity. Photo / NZME

Opinion:

Last week Palmerston North welcomed the Australian Hockeyroos and Kookaburras to take on the Kiwi men's and women's Black Sticks at Massey University's new hockey turf.

One reason the city was chosen for this tournament is because the turf, a dual
community/university facility co-funded by the council in partnership with Massey and Hockey Manawatū, boasts the same playing surface as the Tokyo Olympics.

Confirming Palmy's credentials as a major New Zealand sporting hub, this was the first international tournament hosted in the city since 2020's hugely successful Under-18 Men's Softball World Cup held just before lockdown on the upgraded Colquhoun Park diamonds.

Palmy is also a recognised centre for national sporting events, and has a thriving domestic sporting scene.

A number of our local sporting bodies and interests made submissions to the city's 10-Year Plan.

Now under consideration by the mayor and councillors, the public submissions referencing sport and recreation suggest that city sporting facilities for aquatics, indoor and gym sports are reaching capacity.

Specifically, there are concerns about the demand for facilities and resources by groups involved in aquatic sports.

Members of the Play, Recreation and Sport Committee that I chair are hearing that more work needs to be done here, and we will be looking at feasibility studies for partnerships and sponsorships, rather than relying solely on rates for funding in these areas.

In support of city health and wellbeing goals, we have a responsibility to invest funding and resources where they can create opportunities for youth and communities to remain active, while helping produce future high-performance athletes.

One of the council's recent projects has been the completion of the new plaza entrance to the Central Energy Trust Arena, which has given our regional community stadium the wow factor it lacked.

Involved in sport my entire life firstly as an athlete, and more recently as head coach of the New Zealand High Performance Boxing Team, I am passionate about seeing our city flourish in all areas of sport and recreation.

I also contribute as lead of the Whānau Ora Health and Wellbeing portfolio, and as a member of Neighbourhoods, Villages and Rural, and People and Community portfolios.

In addition, I sit on the council committees for Community Development, Planning and Strategy, Infrastructure, and Environmental Sustainability.

Each of these portfolios and committees is geared towards progressing the wider wellbeing of Palmy residents in responsible, achievable, sustainable and measurable ways.

The 10-Year Plan provisions elected members are now reviewing will provide us with a further blueprint for achieving that.

• Billy Meehan is a Palmerston North city councillor.