Cash boost for sports facilities in the west

Starling Park has been transformed into a social hub. Photo / Greg Bowker

Extra money for improvements as field shrugs off criminal image of the past.

Seven years ago, a West Auckland sporting hub was being run out of a shipping container in a soggy park that was notorious for gang rapes, violence, graffiti and a burned-down clubrooms.

But yesterday, Starling Park was a different place as 50 of Ranui Swanson Football Club's seventh graders gleefully displayed their talents on its grassy No1 field.

"It was a hive of negative feelings," said club president Greg Smith. "But it doesn't happen there anymore because it's now a place of pride.

"It is also a social hub and used summer and winter."

The transformation was due to a solid partnership between football, touch rugby, Waitakere Bears Softball Club and HT United Netball Club.

Instead of "each code fighting over a facility" their unity of purpose was able to win the confidence and financial help of charitable trusts and former Waitakere City Council and Auckland Council.

Their success brought last year's opening of the $2.6 million Starling Park Sports Club building and, yesterday, an announcement from Auckland Council that the park was among three regional sites selected to get extra money for improvements.

In the Ranui park's case, the extra $450,000 from the council when combined with the club's $750,000, will put artificial turf on a full-sized field and softball diamond and give flood lights, with work due to start in September.

"It means we don't have to worry about grounds being closed because of mud," said Mr Smith.

Starling Park Sports Club has 1000 members and its chairman Wayne Reeves said the work guaranteed a top-quality surface throughout the year for football academy members, youth development programmes and numerous football and softball teams.

Henderson-Massey Local Board chairwoman Vanessa Neeson welcomed the extra money, saying it would help meet the west's strong demand for active recreation space and sports fields.

Two other areas chosen for funding boosts to tackle shortages of playing fields are Michaels Ave Reserve in Ellerslie and Seddon Fields in Westmere.

Orakei Local Board chairwoman Desley Simpson said by winter next year a full-sized artificial turf and a warmup-training area would be installed on the No1 field, plus flood lights of a competition standard.

She said the Ellerslie Football Association started pushing for improvement a decade ago.

The Westmere park will get two full-size artificial turf fields, a smaller warmup-training area and competition flood lights.

Waitemata Local Board chairman Shale Chambers said the Pt Chevalier, Westmere, Ponsonby and Grey Lynn areas had one of the region's highest shortfalls in field capacity.

The board had worked with the Western Springs Association Football Club and council parks to increase playing time.

"Increased demand, combined with Auckland's rainy weather, is putting pressure on existing sports fields and facilities in our area," said Mr Chambers.

Council parks, recreation and heritage chairwoman Sandra Coney said the three projects would provide an extra 130 hours of field capacity a week, including 84 hours for training.

She said the council was considering further projects which would give an $87.5 million boost for improvements. This would mean $200 million over 10 years for artificial pitches, sand carpet, drainage, lighting and new field development.