Plans Under Way for "Long Overdue" Indoor Recreation Centre

Plans for Hamilton’s newest and largest multi-court community indoor recreation centre are well under way with a number of the city’s indoor sports and recreation groups stating such a facility is “long overdue”.

It is recommended before 2017 a nine court facility made up of three event-viewing courts and six participation courts will be built and located at Wintec’s Avalon Drive campus in Te Rapa. The Hamilton Community Indoor Recreation Centre (HCIRC) would also feature seating for approximately 1,500 spectators, 200 car parks, changing rooms and toilets, and administration space.

It would also offer streamlined service centres for the three main regional sports organisations which require significant indoor court space: Netball Waikato, Basketball Waikato and Volleyball Waikato.

Today representatives of the Steering Committee of the HCIRC presented plans and details about the $21 million project to a Hamilton City Council workshop.

HCIRC spokesperson and Sport Waikato CEO Matthew Cooper says while the project is included and allowed for in Hamilton City Council’s planning for 2013 to 2017 it would be ideal if the project was brought forward to be completed as soon as possible.

“There is a pressing need for such a facility in Hamilton. The city has no publicly accessible indoor recreation facility of any scale. There is a sizeable void between high performance indoor facilities such as the Claudelands Events Arena and Mystery Creek, and smaller single-use facilities in schools and community halls. This was backed up by a feasibility study which highlighted the need for a medium-sized, multi-purpose, daily-use sport and recreation facility that is accessible to everyone.”

“As many other New Zealand cities have identified, a facility such as this is positive for the community, and caters for the increasing demand for healthy living options and participation in sports. Hamilton has been lacking such a facility for some time and is well behind other cities in this regard.”

“The HCIRC would give Hamilton an excellent chance of boosting participation in indoor sports - multiple sports groups could use the facility at the same time allowing greater flexibility of use, and it will also help secure more regional and national sports tournaments.”

Representatives from Netball Waikato, Basketball Waikato and Volleyball Waikato all welcome the plans for the HCIRC stating that such a facility is “long overdue” in Hamilton.

Basketball Waikato spokesperson John Davey says: “basketball and other indoor sports have been strongly disadvantaged for many years due to the lack of facilities in our city. There is only one full-sized public basketball court in the entire city at the moment, yet several thousand people wish to play indoor community sport on a weekly basis.”

“Our youth and families are being severely sold short. We have been left behind on the facility front compared to every other city in New Zealand, as well as a number of provincial towns. The current situation is a disgrace and embarrassment and needs to be addressed with urgency.”

Netball Waikato’s Region Manager Ben Sinnamon says: “the development of a public indoor recreation facility would be a dream come true for Netball Waikato.”

“Having a facility to regularly utilise would help us continue to grow as a region. It would give Netball Waikato a solid base to work from, and a place our teams could call their own. The facility would provide us with a quality place to train, as well as a place to play on a regular basis, as opposed to using school gyms only when available.”

“It would give us the opportunity to hold events in Hamilton such as the New Zealand Age Group Tournaments, New Zealand Secondary School Tournaments, Lion Foundation National Championship games, Lois Muir National Championship games, and Inter-Region Super 12 Club matches,” said Sinnamon.

Waikato Regional Volleyball Association president and chair spokesperson Dave Macpherson says: “the HCIRC would be welcomed by the local volleyball community. Currently when we run our Waikato Senior and Junior School Volleyball competitions in the city it is challenging as these are not based out of one venue. Instead three or more competitions are played simultaneously in different venues each week, making it difficult for a small group of volunteers to manage.”

“The HCIRC would enable our sport to host key tournaments such as New Zealand’s biggest school event the National Secondary Schools Volleyball Championship, the North Island Junior Schools Volleyball Championships, and the National Club Volleyball Championships.

“We were recently offered the hosting of the last two events, which are held over five days with hundreds of teams entered, but we had to decline as no facility in the Waikato had the court capacity for these tournaments. This would change with the HCIRC and as a result the economic impact for the city would be immense.”

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FACT SHEET – Hamilton Community Indoor Recreation Centre

Hamilton is one of the fastest growing cities in New Zealand, with a population of around 141,000 people. That population is expected to grow to an estimated 153,000 by 2016.

According to the New Zealand Government’s 2009 Quality of Life Survey more than a third of the city’s residents rate taking part in sports or physical activity as their preferred free time activity.

Building a Healthy Community

Living an active lifestyle brings wide ranging benefits to individuals and to a city as a whole. Leading an active lifestyle by engaging in sport and recreation leads to better outcomes for personal development, social inclusion and crime prevention and promotes gains in terms of economic development and environmental sustainability.

Hamilton is a city with a desire to foster healthy living and active communities. The Council’s Active Communities Strategy aims to support Hamiltonians to be physically active as well as provide an environment where people can enjoy participating in recreational activities.

Indoor Sports Facilities – What do we have now?

Hamilton has a number of smaller single-use recreational court and gym facilities spread across the city, with these often being located in schools and community halls. From July 2011, the city will be home to the Claudelands Events Arena which can be adapted with temporary flooring to host high-end sports matches and performances. Facilities such as the privately owned Mystery Creek and the Hamilton YMCA also serve as indoor facilities, however the use of these are restricted by cost, ownership and suitability.

What are we missing?

Hamilton has no publicly accessible indoor recreation facility of any scale. There is a sizeable void between high performance indoor facilities such the Claudelands Events Centre and Mystery Creek, and smaller single-use facilities, highlighting the need for a medium sized, multipurpose and daily use sport and recreation facility that is accessible to everyone.

The Hamilton Community Indoor Recreation Centre (HCIRC) fills this gap, complementing existing venues, including the Claudelands Event Arena, in terms of flexibility of the use of space, the cost to run and accessibility for recreational pursuits for the whole community. It also complement’s the city’s events strategy.

As many other New Zealand cities have identified, a facility such as this is positive for the community, encouraging recreation and catering for the increasing demand for healthy living options and participation sports.

What is recommended?

The recommended option is a nine court facility with three event-viewing courts and six participation courts based at Waikato Institute of Technology’s (Wintec) Avalon Campus. It would provide the ability to have multiple sports groups using the facility at the same time hence allowing greater flexibility of use. This option has been decided upon after a comprehensive feasibility study and extensive consultation between potential user groups; including emerging sporting and recreational activities such as Futsal and Turbo Touch.

In addition to the nine courts, the HCIRC would include seating for approximately 1,500 spectators, 200 car parks, changing rooms and toilets, and administration space. It will also offer streamlined service centres for the three main regional sports organisations requiring significant court space: Netball Waikato, Basketball Waikato and Volleyball Waikato. The Hamilton Community Indoor Recreation Centre is estimated to cost around $21M including the cost of land.

The HCIRC would give Hamilton an excellent chance of securing regional and national sports tournaments. The city could lure competitions such as the National Secondary Schools Volleyball tournament which in a recent iteration brought around $2.2M into Palmerston North’s economy.


How would it work?

The Hamilton Community Indoor Recreation Centre will become a recreation facility that is available to the whole community. An indoor facility that everyone can book a court to play a friendly basketball game, school netball teams can compete in a tournament unaffected by weather, a place to move a sports practice to when it’s wet and cold outside, a venue for premier netball teams to compete.

This facility will enable the whole community to participate in a form of recreation or leisure activity how and when they choose to. Its co-location with city and Wintec playing fields and its proximity to Sport Waikato provide natural synergies around facilities and infrastructure.

Who is involved?

Sport Waikato (Regional Sports Trust representing regional sport and recreation groups), Netball Waikato, Waikato Basketball, Volleyball Waikato, Hamilton City Council and Wintec are currently involved in the project. A Steering Committee was formed in 2009 to progress the concept and planning of the HCIRC. Seed capital for the initial work on this project has been funded by Wintec and Sport Waikato.

How much will it cost?

The HCIRC is estimated to cost around $21M (including the value of the land), Commitments have already been made by several parties. Hamilton City Council (HCC) has allocated funding to the project in the order of $12M in the 2009-2019 LTCCP; and Wintec has committed $2M of land on the Avalon Drive Campus. The estimated $7M balance will be raised by a Trust to be established to fundraise money through various means, including donations and grants.

What is the timing?

The project is included in HCC’s planning for 2013-2017. The intent of the Steering Committee is for this to be brought forward to 2011-2013 due to the pressing need for such a facility in Hamilton.

In summary, why do we need this facility?

• Hamilton is a growing and active city – approximately one-third of Hamilton’s population is involved in indoor recreation. Demand for recreational space historically has; and is currently exceeding supply in Hamilton. The city has juniors playing sport late into the evenings just so they can participate. Locals have to travel outside of the city to participate in regional and national tournaments. A facility such as this is positive for the community, encouraging recreation and catering for the increasing demand for healthy living options; and complements and supports the City’s broader economic and events strategies

• Current facilities do not meet the city’s needs now and in the future - Hamilton has been offered opportunities by Netball New Zealand and Volleyball New Zealand to host national schools and club tournaments for 2011 and beyond, however these opportunities and the resulting community recreation and financial gains for the city have had to be declined due to not having a suitable facility to host them in.

For example Waikato Basketball’s Hamilton personnel organise and promote an Age-Group Easter Tournament with around 100 participating teams, however this event is held in North Harbour, Counties-Manukau or Rotorua as no appropriate venue currently exists in Hamilton. Examples such as these are just the start. We risk the next generation of Hamiltonians not having an indoor facility as an aspirational stepping stone to high-performance sport.