The Cameron Rd Warehouse building has been bought by Tauranga City Council and will transformed into four new indoor basketball courts. Photo / Alex Cairns
The Cameron Rd Warehouse building has been bought by Tauranga City Council and will transformed into four new indoor basketball courts. Photo / Alex Cairns
Tauranga City Council has bought The Warehouse building on Cameron Rd and plans to transform the space into four new indoor basketball courts as part of the Memorial Park redevelopment plans.
In a written statement, council acting chief executive Paul Davidson said the sale went unconditional on January31 and anticipated the new facility would be “up and running” later this year and coincide with the decommissioning of the Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre building that included the Memorial Hall.
Davidson said The Warehouse building would be able to accommodate four basketball-size courts, changing facilities, associated storage, office space and the 220 existing car parks. The council would take possession of the property in early June when work to turn the building into indoor courts begins.
Council and Bay Venues had been planning for several years for a new indoor court and aquatic facilities at Memorial Park to replace the existing ageing facilities, and funding for this was adopted in the last Long Term Plan, he said.
Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre at Memorial Park, Tauranga. Photo / Alex Cairns
“While the original plan was to upgrade the Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre building, it is nearing the end of its serviceable life and would require a significant upgrade.
“Recent building reports have indicated earthquake risk and structural issues will significantly increase project costs, meaning the best course of action is to demolish the old building (including Memorial Hall) and develop a new facility. "
Davidson said the total estimated cost to buy the property and the fitout of the space as indoor costs was $25m and was “more cost-effective” than building a new building for indoor courts in Memorial Park.
The council was on target to have the new courts available by the end of this year to allow “limited or no downtime” between closing existing courts at the Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre.
Bay Venues chief executive Chad Hooker said staff had been working closely with key indoor court user groups to keep them informed of plans and would further engage with them once the design of the new facility was finalised.
“In addition to this project, council and Bay Venues are currently investigating other new indoor court opportunities over the next three to five years to cater to growth.
Hooker said as New Zealand’s fastest-growing city, it was important Tauranga had facilities that best catered to the needs of the city’s growing population.
Davidson said the new indoor facility, and how Memorial Park was used in the future, were being considered within the wider context of all the council’s other reserves, parks, recreational and aquatic centres.
“It forms part of broader plans to work with the community and sports organisations to make our community spaces better and use the spaces we have in the best way possible,” he said.
“Mount Sports Centre was an old one-court facility and the centre would close and be demolished within the next three years as part of improvements to Blake Park and enable development of more space for field sports at the park.
Construction on the new Memorial Park Aquatic Centre approved by the Commission late last year would also begin after the demolition of the Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre and was expected to open in late 2027, Davidson said.
The new aquatic centre would replace the existing pools in Memorial Park and Ōtūmoetai that were at the end of their lives, and would include a 25m indoor, hydrotherapy, learn to swim and leisure pools, an outdoor lido pool and hydro slides as well as a cafe and gym, he said.
