The Stratford Park Project, as it's currently known, has been in the pipeline for a couple of years now and involves multiple sports codes and variations of them.
When approached for support the first challenge for council was to understand and gain belief in the project and the benefits being talked about.
When it came to potential benefits for the Stratford District and the region as a whole, council considered the employment opportunities, economic development benefits, the raised profile for Stratford and a whole range of other factors before deciding to back this proposal.
It is widely held belief that having council support will have a significant impact on the credibility of the project. As the project gets under way this will help secure future funding from other sources.
One of those other factors was how do we put some skin in the game but at the same time minimise risks for our ratepayers.
Council has been very mindful throughout of protecting ratepayers' interests by ensuring the loan is fully serviced by the A&P Association. It will be their cost, not the ratepayers, and in the case of a default the loan is secured against the land, similar to the arrangement a bank would use.
We also engaged extensively with our community to gauge the public support for the project and our intention to loan the money. The community participation, interest and response was overwhelming.
Nearly 600 people responded by way of written submission, around 225 attended a public meeting held in Stratford, 61 asked to speak at a special day long council meeting held to consider the submissions and over 50 attended the council meeting when the proposal was debated and the loan finally approved.
The vast majority were supportive of council providing the loan but some did question the financial risks and the potential impact on ratepayers. We believe we have addressed those concerns sufficiently to approve the loan.
Other issues raised were the environmental aspects of the project and the potential effects of noise on cattle grazing nearby. These matters are best referred to the resource consenting process that will follow in due course.
Personally I see the project not as one huge, almost impossible project to achieve, but rather as a series of smaller projects that over time, are achievable.
Will every idea that has been floated to date become a reality?
There are so many possibilities it would be unrealistic to say all ideas mooted to date will eventuate, but I don't think that matters too much. As each of the individual projects is ticked off it will add to the overall project and the vision that has been talked about.
The development may never have a final end point but will instead, find its own level and sustainability. It is huge, ambitious and exciting.