Arena extension possible as Napier City Council plan for more indoor sports courts

Napier needs more indoor sports spaces and is looking at options including the Pettigrew-Green Arena.

Moves are being made to step up an extension of the Pettigrew Green Arena stadium to meet the demand for new indoor sports court space in Napier.

Thursday's extraordinary meeting of the Napier City Council appointed a working group to help see the project through.

It will comprise three members of the council, two senior staff, PGA general manager Dan Rodden, and Ryan Hambleton, representing anchor PGA occupant Sport Hawke's Bay.

Specifically it will investigate the provision of more indoor court space in Napier, where the PGA is one of three public-use indoor sports venues in which the council is involved, along with the Rodney Green Centennial Events Centre, which was built incorporating McLean Park's Centennial Stand more than 60 years ago, and the Meeanee Indoor Sports Centre.

Key drivers for more space are the growth in young people's participation in basketball, volleyball and futsal.

Basketball Hawke's Bay has plans to build outdoor asphalt courts next to Whitmore Park at the former Wairere Bowling Club, which the association bought in 2013.

The PGA has plans to extend its facilities with an extra building encroaching on current carparking and on neighbouring EIT land.

It has about $5.5 million available, with a previous planning commitment of $4 million from the council.