Rugby: Stadium costs put club offside

A local rugby club has decided against using the Rotorua International Stadium for a night game after they were told it would cost $5000 to turn on the lights. Photo/File

Rotoiti have decided against using the Rotorua International Stadium for a night game after being told the cost would be $5000 just to turn on the lights.

Rotoiti played Greerton on Friday afternoon in a Baywide premier match at Emery Park.

The club had earlier asked to hold the game on Thursday night at the stadium, to make the turnaround a bit longer before today's match against Opotiki.

Rotoiti coach Kevin Lee said if a cheaper solution could be found, they would look to hold a night match at the stadium during their next double-header round.

Lee said the stadium would not only be the ideal location but it would provide a great experience for the players.

Rotorua International Stadium operations manager Crispian Stewart said it cost more to turn on the stadium lights during a week day than the weekend.

Stewart said it cost about $1200 to use the stadium lights on a Saturday or Sunday compared to about $5000 during the week.

He said the cost was set by their electricity supplier and took into account high-user periods.

Stewart said the best way to bring down the cost of hiring the stadium for local clubs was to share the costs.

He said he was open to the idea of having different clubs use the facilities on the same day and share the cost.

"Something that I put to the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union was to host club rugby at the stadium for round one, and have six or eight Rotorua teams play their first match here [on the same day]."

He said he had not received a response.

Stewart said he would like to see more one-off games at the stadium involving local sport clubs.

However, he said the hiring cost and the loss of revenue from a club's bar were two barriers which turned local teams away.

At present no Rotorua clubs regularly use the stadium although the main field is used about 25 days a year for different events.

The other fields next to the stadium's main field are also used about 150 days a year, Stewart said.