Wairarapa Hockey Association plans for the development of a second hockey turf and new pavilion costing in the region of $1.3m at their Clareville complex are well advanced.
Executive officer Kelly Govan said yesterday it was hoped construction work could be commenced within three months and that the second turf would
be up and running by this time next year.
"We are in the final stages of planning, it's just a matter of making sure all the nuts and bolts are in place, "Govan said. "Right now everything looks very positive, we're working on the basis that it's all go."
Govan said the point had been reached where the progress of hockey in Wairarapa was being hampered by the lack of turf time allowed by there being only one full-sized hockey turf available in the district. Statistics clearly demonstrated how badly off Wairarapa were in that respect.
The 1538 registered players they had was the most for any province with just the one full-sized turf.,the next most crowded single facility of that type being in Canterbury where 1222 players share.And the national average was 734 players per turf.
"Those figures show just how far we are behind in being able to offer our players the type of facilities they require to perform to the highest levels,"Govan said,adding even so the Wairarapa had a wonderful history of producing outstanding hockey players and their teams consistently performed well nationally.
Govan said the addition of a new WETT turf at Clareville would be a huge boon for players who would then have the opportunity to play and practice on a surface similar to that on which many national tourneys were now being played..
On the club scene it would allow match organisers to extend the duration of matches and provide the flexibility of more appealing game times.This in turn would attract more players to the sport and make it much easier to retain those currently involved.
And the second turf would also enable the Wairarapa association to stage a greater number of national tournaments here, thereby attracting more visitors to the district and aiding local businesses as a result.
Govan said the addition of a new pavilion with bar and catering facilities would be a major plus as well as it would provide the opportunity for spectators to watch games in a warm and comfortable environment "even on those cold Wairarapa nights".
