Racing Rotorua chief executive Damien Radesic at Arawa Park. Photo / Andrew Warner
Racing Rotorua chief executive Damien Radesic at Arawa Park. Photo / Andrew Warner
The accusation that Rotorua's racecourse is a "dead duck" amid calls for a regional facility has been shot down by local racing leaders who say the course is on the up and has no plans to move.
But a local MP questions whether the Bay of Plenty needs a racecourseat all, and tangata whenua says they would be eager to use the land for housing if racing moved on.
The comments come as the prospect of a shared Bay racecourse is considered by Tauranga City Council which is looking at preferred plans to remove its local racecourse from its existing Greerton site to an unknown location.
The plans also come as New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing instructs Rotorua and Tauranga racing clubs to work together towards a shared venue.
Tauranga Racing board member Doug Owens said he wanted to retain the Greerton racecourse despite pressure from the national body and council. He labelled a move to Rotorua as "nonsense" as the racecourse was a "dead duck" anyway due to a previous recommendation of closure and the low number of meetings last year.
But Rotorua Racing Club president Andrew Bryant disputed this, saying the club was doing great and the future was bright despite recent setbacks.
Aerial view of Rotorua racecourse Arawa Park, pictured in 2014. Photo / Ben Fraser
The closure of Arawa Park was recommended in a 2018 report titled Review of the New Zealand Racing Industry, which suggested reducing the number of race tracks in the country from 48 to 28 over six years.
It was overseen by top Australian racing administrator and breeder John Messara and commissioned by then Racing Minister Winston Peters. If the recommendation went ahead, it would have seen Arawa Park closed from the 2023/24 season.
But the following year the New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing proposal was released and Rotorua's closure was not recommended.
Bryant said that despite the Messara Report and Covid affecting race days, the club was financially sound, with income coming in and a freehold track. If Tauranga ended up trackless, the club was welcome to use its facility, he said.
"We feel it's going to be a fairly hard sell for us to be moved but then we are open to it. We are not saying 'no' but it's got to be beneficial with what we've got. Let's just see what happens."
Bryant was aware of suggestions of a regional racecourse being built at Paengaroa but questioned how feasible it would be. Most racehorses would need to come from Cambridge, and for some horse owners the trek would not necessarily be worth it, he said.
"Whatever they say, if racing is a dead duck I think we are in a lot stronger position than Tauranga is," Bryant said.
"We're just waiting for Tauranga to say what they are doing. We are happy. Racing is going to be great in the future for Bay of Plenty."
Racing Rotorua chief executive Damien Radesic echoed the invitation to Tauranga Racing and said a shared facility had to be considered.
Tauranga Racing remained in limbo, for now. Tauranga City Council was considering holding hearings regarding the future use of the land where the racecourse was located but any decision was not likely to be made before June.
Rotorua MP Todd McClay said Rotorua Racecourse was "important" as it was well used due to its location and "proper engagement" was needed.
Rotorua MP Todd McClay says fewer isn't always best in relation to a shared Bay of Plenty racecourse. Photo / Andrew Warner
"Once these assets are gone, inevitably you would never get them back. I would be very cautious about closing a course just because of the suggestion that fewer is better," he said.
McClay said the country's bloodstock industry was a big employer and an important part of the economy.
Labour list MP Tāmati Coffey believed any Bay of Plenty racing development efforts should be directed to the Waikato region, where there was already more of an "ecosystem" set up for horse racing.
"As we talk about not having a racecourse in Tauranga, there is probably a good argument to say 'do we actually need anything in Rotorua either?"
Coffey - who described himself as an "outsider looking in" - said he would "love nothing more" than to see housing built on the Rotorua racetrack.
"I don't ride horses, I am not an avid racecourse goer. But I would also say maybe not a lot of people are considering there are only a few meets a year at our local one in Rotorua.
"This could be a solution to a problem."
The land Rotorua Racecourse sits on was gifted to the city in 1881 for the purposes of racing.
The council owns the land for now and leases it to Rotorua Racing. It is one of several reserves gifted to the city where, if it is no longer used for gifted purposes, it must be given back to Māori.
Pukeora Oruawhata Trust deputy chairman David Tapsell said if Rotorua Racing was moved on, "we could embrace an extensive housing project to help deal with Rotorua's housing crisis".
"We can do something constructive with it . . . for the greater community good."
The proposal was something already presented to the council as an option if the land became surplus, he said.
Tapsell said the trust was not getting involved in council and racing industry discussions "but we are there, ready and waiting" if the racecourse was closed down.
Tapsell estimated there could be 600 housing units located at the racecourse land.
Rotorua Lakes Council referred any comment to Racing Rotorua.
In a Tauranga City Council meeting on Monday, commission chairwoman Anne Tolley said the local racing industry was faced with "great uncertainty" around its future.
Sport and Recreation Minister Grant Robertson said it would be inappropriate for him to comment on the matter.
