KEY POINTS:
Tauranga has been snubbed once again by netball officials who have not allocated any Magic games to the city next year, saying the lack of suitable facilities is to blame.
Hamilton and Rotorua will host all the home games for the Waikato/Bay of Plenty team - four and
three games respectively - in next year's inaugural transtasman ANZ netball competition.
Tauranga's Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre at Memorial Park was upgraded in 2006 but has still failed to meet the new criteria for hosting pool matches.
The $2.6 million redevelopment involved new seating, a stadium extension, new offices and other general improvements.
Netball Bay of Plenty chief executive Sheryl Dawson said it was a shame the centre was still not up to standard.
A draft schedule given to the Bay of Plenty Times last month indicated a game was to be played in the city but was now to be held in Hamilton.
"I'm absolutely devastated that we can't host a game here in Tauranga because we haven't got a facility that meets the requirements," she said.
One reason was the lack of seating. The competition rules say venues must cater for at least 3000 people. "QEYC comes nowhere near that, despite our best efforts. Until we get the new events centre at Baypark the likelihood ... is quite remote, unless there is some problem with other venues," Ms Dawson said. "What they [Netball New Zealand] are saying is that this is a step up and you need to provide more opportunities for the public to go to live games."
It is not the first time Tauranga has missed out because of a lack of facilities.
In 2005, the Magic forfeited its home advantage and played the competition final in Invercargill because the QEYC was not considered big enough. Hamilton and Rotorua's venues were unavailable, so Tauranga was the only local option at that time.
Ms Dawson hoped the absence of Magic games in Tauranga would encourage the council to focus on the development of a sports centre at Baypark.
"We hope that it will mean the council will move hastily to get the Baypark stadium built so we can have Magic games here," she said.
"It's sad, we know that our strongest fan base is in Tauranga. It does mean that we're hoping our loyal supporters from Tauranga will stick by Magic and go to Magic games."
The Western Bay provided 61 per cent of the supporters for Magic - the greatest proportion out of Hamilton, Tauranga and Rotorua.
Mayor Stuart Crosby said the new sports and exhibition centre planned for Baypark would be discussed in a council meeting.
"If we get through that, we would hope to start construction early in the New Year," he said.
The facility would hopefully be completed by 2009 but possibly 2010. But Mr Crosby was more concerned with how locals would benefit from the facility rather than it hosting international sports games.
"The key really for me is about having a facility for our growing community, so that's why we need to get the funding right and the sizing right and the amenities."
Cr Gregory Brownless said while he thought a good-sized venue was important, it had to be balanced by the cost.
"If Netball New Zealand was prepared to tip something towards it, that would be good," he said.
Magic approached the Bay of Plenty Times seeking a sponsorship deal three weeks ago in which Tauranga was listed on a draft match schedule as hosting one game against Perth in April.
Ms Dawson said that was an error, and the QEYC was only a back up venue. Hamilton should have been listed as the venue for the April 26 game.
"It was only a draft and the reality was that [QEYC] was there as a back up game. That was an error. It was always going to be at Mystery Creek."
- Bay of Plenty Times
