Major sports stadium McLean Park's turf and drainage replacement is on target for its September rugby match reopening, despite a lake-like appearance today which may have made it more suitable for a rowing championships.
With the heavy rain from late Monday through today hardly unusual for the first fortnight of June, the flooding was not expected to cause any delays.
The project, a complete replacement of the oval to a depth of almost half a metre, started a few days after the April 6 Super Rugby match between New Zealand team the Hurricanes and South African visitors the Sharks.
Today, as the ponding receded, a council spokesperson said "there's no concern about drainage at this stage" and the project is on target for the park to be ready in time for a Mitre 10 Cup rugby championship third-weekend Sunday-afternoon match between the Hawke's Bay Magpies and the Counties Manukau Steelers on September 2.
The project, brought forward after deteriorating drainage forced the cancellation of a one-day game between Chappell-Hadlee Trophy transtasman cricket match in February last year, passed the halfway stage last week.
