SPORT GENERAL - Funding needed for new facility

A CONSORTIUM of four sporting groups wants up to $5.5 million of ratepayer funding for a new regional sports facility at Kensington Park.
The proposed new facility is the second stage of the plan to develop an all-weather athletics track at the park. Work on the track is due to be completed this summer, but the planned new building is not just for Athletics Northland, it will also house three other sporting organisations.
The Northland All Weather Track Trust now represents Athletics Northland, the Whangarei Academy of Gymnastics, the Whangarei Indoor Bowling Association and Sport Northland - all of whom seek new premises.
The trust presented its plans, and outlined funding requirements for the project, to the Whangarei District Council community enterprises committee on Wednesday.
A detailed conceptual plan for the building which includes a 1600 sq m purpose built gymnasium, an 800 sq m indoor bowls facility and a 580 seat grandstand overlooking the track was also presented. In addition, there would be storage and office space for up to 15 of Sport Northland's regional sports co-ordinators within the facility.
Sport Northland chief executive Brent Eastwood said the best case scenario for the trust would see construction start at the end of 2009, but a building date would depend on many different factors.
The biggest challenge facing the trust is coming up with an estimated $9.2 million to meet the construction costs of the project.
Before the presentation, the district council had pledged $700,000 for the project in its Long-Term Council Community Plan, Mr Eastwood said.
"Council has been supportive but what we've got to do at the moment is try and increase the amount of money that council will put toward the project in the LTCCP," Mr Eastwood said.
"We'd like to see that increase so that we can get the balance of the money for the project from external funding agencies."
Mr Eastwood said due to the size of the project, funding could be expected to take some time to finalise. The trust presented its ideas to the council in the hope that an increase in funding might be included in the draft LTCCP for the 2008-2009 financial year, when it was released in March.
"We would hope they might think about [it] then, otherwise we might have to wait until next year - a review year for the long-term council community plan," he said.
Acting trust chairman Erc Angelo said applications made to external funding agencies would be helped a great deal by a sizeable grant from council.
"We're looking at the WDC initially and the remaining money will be a combination of approaches to the regional council, and all the other funding agencies that we deal with, like the Lottery Commission, the ASB Trust, other charitable trusts, you name it - no stone will go unturned as we look to fund the project," he said.