Mitre 10 Park CEO Jock Mackintosh said the $2 million Cricket and Boxing centre and $800,000 parking and road infrastructure upgrade will be complete about September. Photo / Warren Buckland
Mitre 10 Park CEO Jock Mackintosh said the $2 million Cricket and Boxing centre and $800,000 parking and road infrastructure upgrade will be complete about September. Photo / Warren Buckland
The $2 million cricket and boxing centre is only a few months away from completion at the Mitre 10 park in Hastings.
The facility, for use by Central Districts Cricket, Giants Boxing and the community, is scheduled to be finished by September.
The building will be 2000 square metres, including four indoor cricket lanes, 600 square metres of purpose-built space for the boxing facility and changing rooms and office facilities for both codes.
Alongside the facility will be $800,000 of supporting infrastructure including roading and about 150 more car parks due to be finished in September or October.
Mitre 10 Park CEO Jock Mackintosh said the facility will drastically increase the capacity and accessibility of indoor training for cricket.
"At the moment the capacity for indoor training is tiny, there is really only one indoor lane in Napier, so this is going to increase that four-fold".
Construction on the 2000 square metre facility began in February and is principally funded by the Rodney Green Foundation. Photo / Warren Buckland
"It's going to be a great mix because CD [Central Districts Cricket] will primarily use it during the day and it's available for community use outside that. That's really when the community wants to use it anyway because they are working or at school during the day."
He said the boxing part of the facility will also be a huge upgrade for Giants Boxing
"Craig McDougall, who runs Giants Boxing, does a fantastic job for the community."
"The configuration of it is purpose-built for them and it's all new so it's a substantive upgrade for them."
He said the project had been operating on schedule so far and the process to get so close to the point of completion will be worth it.
"There is no doubt that it has been a difficult environment while all this construction is going on, but we are going to end up with something at is arguably the best of its type in New Zealand."
The Mitre 10 facility is the largest multi-sport facility in the country in terms of land area, with a 30-hectare site.
"In 2006 it was a green paddock, now it is a comprehensive suite of facilities, the vast majority of funding for which has come from non-ratepayer sources," Mackintosh said.
"Hawke's Bay is pretty fortunate to have that investment in it."
Mitre 10 Park currently offers a venue for competition and clubs in netball, athletics, canoe polo, rugby, football, hockey, rugby, touch rugby, Ki o Rahi and futsal.
