Tauranga stadium protest: Sports clubs to ramp up ‘Hands off” campaign for Domain, Baypark

A 3D aerial view perspective of the proposed boutique stadium at Tauranga Domain. Image / Boffa Miskell and Visitor Solutions.

Community sports clubs that could be displaced if a boutique stadium is built on Tauranga Domain will be holding a protest meeting in March to fight the plans.

The boutique $170 million to $180m stadium is part of Tauranga City Council’s proposed Active Reserves Masterplans for Tauranga Domain, Baypark and Blake Park in Mount Maunganui. The masterplans propose relocating some sports and activities.

These include moving the Tauranga Croquet Club and Tauranga Lawn Bowling Club from the Domain to new locations, the all-weather athletics track from the Domain to Baypark and temporarily moving the speedway’s pit area within Baypark to allow extra space for community sports.

However, the council’s masterplans document indicates the preference is for the speedway to relocate elsewhere “no later than 2029″.

At Blake Park, it was also proposed that the rugby and cricket fields be upgraded, extra grass fields added, the tennis courts reconfigured and the netball courts would be relocated to Baypark.

The council has partnered with Sports Bay of Plenty, Bay Venues Limited (BVL) and economic agency Priority One on the project, and an independent group, led by Priority One, is developing a business case report for the proposed stadium which is due back to the council next month or early March.

The Bay of Plenty Speedway Association, the Tauranga Croquet Club, the Tauranga Millennium Track Trust and the Tauranga Lawn Tennis Club, which have formed an alliance, will be holding a public protest meeting at Tauranga Domain on March 5 from 1pm.

Tauranga Millennium Track Trust trustee Garth Mathieson is among those fighting a proposal to build a boutique stadium at Tauranga Domain. Photo / Mead Norton

Millennium Track Trust trustee Garth Mathieson said the alliance’s “peaceful protest” was aimed at raising more community awareness of the proposed “destruction” of world-class local and regional assets by the council, which would cost “hundreds of millions of dollars” to replace.

Mathieson encouraged those attending the protest meeting to bring banners and placards to send a clear “hands-off” message to the commissioners.

“These assets include the only all-weather athletic track in the Bay of Plenty, and the only speedway that has super saloons and sprint cars in the Bay of Plenty, and the Tauranga Croquet Club, which has been at the Domain for 100 years,” he said.

“We’re booked the number one grandstand at the Domain and hope to get up to 1000 people to come along to hear more about the council’s destructive plans and the significant impacts if these plans go ahead.”

Mathieson said the proposed site for a new track and athletics facilities at Baypark was too small, the land was swampy. It was also next to a transfer station, a sewerage plant, and two fertiliser businesses.

“Construction of a boutique stadium at the Domain costing hundreds of millions of dollars that will be too small for major rugby games, too big for NPC games, without adequate parking and the ability to expand it as the city grows, doesn’t make sense.

“We are also protesting about the proposed loss of community sports and green space at the Domain.”

Mathieson said the alliance would be inviting the Tauranga commissioners and potential funders to come to the protest meeting, and the trust had not discounted taking legal action to fight the plans.

A protest meeting will be held at Tauranga Domain on March 1 to fight plans to build a $170m-$180m boutique stadium on the site, displacing some sports clubs. Photo / Mead Norton

Tauranga Croquet Club president Gretchen Benvie said at this stage the council has not informed the club about any potential relocation options.

Benvie said the alliance members could not fight the plans alone.

“We need lots more people to stand up and voice their opposition as this proposal has huge implications not just for sports clubs that call the Domain and Baypark home, but also for all those people who regularly use these grounds for other activities. The loss of any more green space in Tauranga would be devastating.”

She also believed the council’s consultation should have been much wider before pushing ahead to developing a business case for the proposed stadium.

A 3D aerial perspective of the proposed plan changes to Baypark. Image / Boffa Miskell and Visitor Solutions

A steering group made up of three speedway organisations, including the Bay of Plenty Speedway Association, is “working towards legal action” if they could not remain at Baypark, steering group member Rodney Wood said.

Wood said not a lot of people outside of sporting groups and some of the other users of the grounds knew about the plans and their implications.

“We believe they [plans] are not in the community’s best interests and if they go ahead it will have a massive impact on the wider community and could also put sporting organisations who currently call these grounds their home out of business.”

Tauranga commission chairwoman Anne Tolley said she would not be attending any protest meeting because the proposed masterplans were still at a “high level” stage in the process and a business case for the stadium was still being developed.

“I want to reiterate that no decisions have been made and if the commissioners do decide a business case has been established, then the next step in the process will be full public consultation so clubs and the wider community will have to chance to give us their feedback.”

Tolley said she rejected any suggestion the consultation process had been inadequate as she, the council staff and BVL have had several meetings with these sporting groups and other users, including her meeting with Gretchen Benvie when they discussed possible relocation options for the club.

The Bay of Plenty Times Weekend also approached Tauranga Lawn Tennis Club president Philip Brown for comment.