Bid for Hawke's Bay Velodrome Gets HDC Tick of Approval

Hastings District Council has thrown its support behind a Regional Sport’s Park Trust bid to bring New Zealand’s second velodrome to Hawke’s Bay.

HDC voted last week to contribute $1.79m to the construction of the $15m Sports Park velodrome, if the Trust is successful in its bid for $7m Government funding for the national facility.

Today the RSP Trust submitted an Expression of Interest document to SPARC, the first step in a process which will conclude in April with a decision on which North Island centre will host the velodrome.

Hastings Deputy Mayor and Cycle Strategy Group chair Cynthia Bowers says Hawke’s Bay has more than a healthy chance of beating out other contenders for the funding, which include Palmerston North, Wanganui and Auckland.

“Hawke’s Bay is a ready-made cycling destination and some exciting cycling projects are developing over the next few years which will make our offering even stronger,” Cr Bowers says.

“Hastings was recently awarded $4.1m from NZTA for the Walking and Cycling Model Communities project. Hastings will soon set an example for other centres on how to get commuters out of their cars and onto their feet or a bike.

“Not only that, but Hawke’s Bay Regional Council has been awarded $1.89m to create a scenic ‘Landscape Trail’ through the stunning Tukituki Valley as part of the nationwide cycleway project, which will attract even more recreational cyclist to the region.

“With the introduction of a velodrome at the Sports Park Hawke’s Bay will have a complete range of cycling facilities and they will be absolutely world-class.

“We already have the fantastic Rotary Pathways and the Eskdale Mountain Bike Park and there are some great grassroots projects emerging, such as Bike On’s ‘Bikes in Schools’ and ‘Cops on Bikes’, which reflect a strong community desire to make Hawke’s Bay the Cycling Capital of New Zealand,” Cr Bowers says.