Editorial: Slight on Bay rugby

New Plymouth's Yarrow Stadium

The news yesterday that Taranaki Rugby has moved from the Hurricanes to the Chiefs is a further slap in the face for sport in the Western Bay.

New Plymouth's Yarrow Stadium will now host two Chiefs matches in 2014 against the Blues on May 9 and the Waratahs on May 31.

Baypark Stadium has been dumped from the roster for the next two years which is no great surprise given the negative feedback from the Chiefs and Blues earlier this season.

The public attend games there in reasonable numbers but if we had a Yarrow Stadium in Tauranga the walk-up attendance would be far greater.

Losing the Chiefs home games is a major slight on Bay of Plenty Rugby. Taranaki, Waikato, Counties Manukau and Bay of Plenty unions have the same share in the new Chiefs business model of 11.55 per cent each but Hamilton has five home games and New Plymouth two.

You can rightly speculate that any spare games will go to Pukekohe ahead of Tauranga in the future.

This year's Census reveals New Plymouth has a population of 74,757 compared to Tauranga's 116,190 - a significant difference of 36 per cent.

As Tauranga grows rapidly, the lack of a satisfactory outdoor stadium to host winter codes will become more of an indictment on the city.

The local economy is also missing out on large revenue streams from visiting supporters and teams staying in town for tournaments.

NZRU chief executive Steve Tew highlighted how much the Chiefs' move to New Plymouth will mean to young kids in Taranaki.

"The good news for Taranaki is that fans get to enjoy rugby from the toughest rugby competition in the world. This taste of top class action is not only good for fans but will inspire young players."

But Western Bay kids will miss out.

The stadium renovations done in Wellington, Dunedin, Whangarei and New Plymouth were funded mostly by their regional councils, with funding from profitable ports a factor.

How about our regional council and key business leaders sit down and start formulating a plan to right this sporting wrong.

Tauranga deserves the All Blacks, Maori All Blacks, All Blacks Sevens, All Whites, Warriors, NZ Secondary Schools and WaiBOP United playing here in a stadium we can all be proud of.