Hockey: New turf rewards 'sweat and tears'

Having a hands-up rather than hands-out philosophy is Hockey Northland's response to the success of the sport in the region.

After the official opening of the $1.8 million Currie Electrical Turf, Hockey Northland chief executive officer Grant McLeod was quick to disperse credit for the success of the project.

"It was a great day for those people who put the time in [to the third turf project]," McLeod said. "There was a lot of unseen sweat and almost a few tears at times with the barriers that were there, and we got through.

"We've always had the philosophy of a hand up rather than hand out, and when I walk around this facility it's a world class facility.

"It is in my opinion the best facility in the country, I'm a bit biased, but we get a lot of parents who go away ... and they say [other facilities are] pretty grotty."

While some see it as the end of a project, McLeod says they now have to focus on again growing the sport and making it worthwhile for its members.

"We've been getting some positive feedback from the community ... that's due to having the facilities and having the philosophy of providing hockey opportunities, because that's our core business.

"People can say we've been lucky or not ... we've done pretty well, but we've worked hard for it."

While a new turf may seem like a huge addition to the sport, Hockey Northland was still operating at the high usage end of the spectrum when going by Hockey New Zealand (HNZ) regulations.

HNZ's turf plan says that the maximum number of players to use a turf should be 650-800. Last year Hockey Northland had 2215 players for two turfs and even with three the figure is about 750.

"[However], that's not saying we're going to jump in there and do another turf."