Paeroa College receives $40K grant for multi-sports complex

Paeroa College from the air, showing its 16 distinctive coloured roofs. Photo / NZCT

New Zealand Community Trust (NZCT) has awarded a grant of $40,000 to help complete stage one of the Paeroa College Multi-Sports Complex.

Larn Wilkinson of the Paeroa College Trust said “We sought co-funding from NZCT to assist in covering the Paeroa College Court area in an artificial turf. The area has remained unused for nearly 20 years as the college and community did not have sufficient funds to develop this area to its full potential.

“This is stage one of a larger vision and plan to create a modern, high-end sports facility. The area will eventually become a fully covered, multi-purpose facility, from which both the college and wider community will benefit enormously.

“There is currently no multi-purpose facility in Paeroa and the wider Hauraki region large enough to cater for the growing number of events and sporting codes and tournaments. In this initial stage, this facility will provide the tamariki of Paeroa College and all surrounding primary schools a facility that meets the current growth of the Paeroa area.

Paeroa is a community of 4269 people, centrally located within the Hauraki District and is used for a majority of district-wide events, such as the Highland Games and the Hauraki Pā wars, as well as multiple sporting tournaments and representative sporting events including Thames Valley rugby and netball games.

Paeroa is also known as the main entrance to the wider Coromandel area, surrounded by the hugely popular Hauraki Rail Trail, which is enjoyed by thousands of hikers each year.

“Being an all-weather surface will allow for a multitude of sports to be played in any weather,” said Larn Wilkinson.

He added, “Due to the lack of such facilities here in Hauraki, many of the sports fields become unavailable if the weather is too wet. This development will allow sports to continue, regardless of the weather.

“By developing this area, the community will finally have a facility that will allow the region to participate and grow. It will also create a level of comfort amongst parents that adequate and modern facilities are being provided for future generations to use.

“Developing this facility will enable further growth not only of the College but also the wider community as we aim (in stages) to look at creating an all-weather facility. Once all stages are complete, this facility will be similar to facilities often found only in the larger metropolitan centres.

“A staged approach to development is being adopted to ensure we minimise any major cost burden on our current community. We want to ensure the college and wider community is able to have access to a high-level facility without creating a large initial outlay.”