Tasman council cool on rugby request

NELSON - The Tasman District Council is questioning whether it should provide up to $700,000 towards making Nelson's Trafalgar Park suitable for hosting premier division rugby games next year.

The Nelson Bays Rugby Union yesterday asked the council to contribute towards the $2.7 million park upgrade which already has the support of the Nelson City Council.

The request is conditional on the upgrade being adopted by a joint regional funding forum which meets on July 1 to decide if the upgrade fits the criteria.

But several Tasman councillors yesterday questioned the funding request, and none spoke in favour of it.

Councillor Trevor Norriss wanted to know if the union was contributing to any other upgrades the council was helping fund, such as the Motueka Rugby Park and Moutere Hills sports complex, which were used by rugby teams.

Councillor Jack Inglis said he believed a better long-term option would be to sell Trafalgar Park and develop Saxton Field into a "proper 50,000 seat" stadium.

"We would pick up the big test matches, we are being short-minded."

Councillor Ted O'Regan said the council was already heavily involved in maintaining sports grounds and asked whether it could buy into a franchise arrangement.

Union director Nick Patterson said there was no franchise arrangement it was "purely and simply the union is giving us an opportunity to play rugby at a high level".

The council was told Nelson-Marlborough's inclusion in the 14-team competition meant 30 or 40 professional rugby players and staff would be living in the area, and the region's 80,000 people would have the opportunity to watch top-class rugby.

But Mr Patterson said the union needed the money for the upgrade now.

"We have to have the facilities to operate next year."

Items such as lighting and grandstands were relocatable, and could be used for future developments, he said.

Mr Patterson said a "key plank" of Nelson-Marlborough's strategy was the purchase of 8000 seats from Auckland's Ericsson Stadium, with 4000 going to Nelson and 4000 to Marlborough.

The Nelson union had until today to decide whether it would buy the Auckland grandstand, but was seeking an extension to that deadline.

The union did have a "Plan B", but Mr Patterson was not willing to reveal details.

Union chief executive Peter Barr told the meeting that it was not contributing money to any other park upgrades around the district.

"We are not into owning bricks and mortar. We are in the business of administering the game, but we appreciate that, if we want to play premier rugby, we need to contribute to Trafalgar Park."

The Nelson Bays union was not a profit-making organisation, and the New Zealand Rugby Union would fund the team with about $900,000 a year to "drive" the team, he said.

Speaking outside the meeting today, Mr Barr said it had not considered what would happen if the request was declined.

"We believe they will (accept) and that they will see it as a regional facility and it's in the best interests of the region."

Borrowing $700,000 towards the park upgrade would add 0.3 per cent to Tasman district rates. The council is expected to decide whether it will grant the request next week.

- nzpa