Mr Feist said it was not long before fundraising and planning reached a stage when the supporters saw the need for an official organisation to oversee the project.
That meeting in November 50 years ago took over all finance and arrangements of the inaugural committee.
The original Springvale Stadium was opened on May 28 1966 and featured two basketball courts which could accommodate eight badminton courts.
It cost a grand total of $120,000, which in today's terms translates to about $4.3million.
"Sportspeople raised nearly half the cost which equates to about $2million today. I don't think society today would support such a high level of fundraising," Mr Feist said.
That fundraising even covered the purchase of ashtrays for the stadium.
"In those days we had management running the place. Now we have governance.
"Computers, emails and websites make life easier. In those early days 200 copies of the rules were printed by Gestetner," he said.
"Meetings started at 8pm and were lengthy. And sports using the centre often played to after 11pm or midnight. Today people head home by 9pm because 'it's getting late'."
He said the structure of the events was much more formal in those early days, too, and that formality was adhered to.
"You belonged to a club and played when the club operated. Today's arrangements and participation is much more informal and people don't often want to 'belong'. Sport didn't get in the way of work. Today we try to have work not interfere with sport," Mr Feist said.
Those early years also saw the Springvale Stadium used mainly at night and weekends. More recently it's used during the daytime and by a huge variety of groups as well as the night-time and weekends.
In its original state, Springvale Park was a swampy wasteland but is now a pristine reserve and the home of a lot of outdoor activities as well.
The original stadium was added to in 1971 with the "Extension" and its heated pools. But the pools proved a financial millstone because of constant problems and they were closed.
But as one door closes another opens and in stepped the Wanganui Boys and Girls Gym Club.
The building of the Jubilee Stadium in the late 1980s was added and more recently the Splash Centre joined the park complex.
And, of course, it is also home to the New Zealand Masters Games.
Mr Feist said people needed to be reminded that the Wanganui Community Sports Centre has overseen the progress from wasteland to stadiums worth more than $14million. "It's gone from debts and deficits to one of no debt," he said.
It was a development that has had an enormous economic impact for Wanganui, bringing in thousands of visitors to the city each year.
"We've gone from a lease with a peppercorn rental of one shilling and no rates, to a lease and rates of over $6000 annually paid to the Wanganui District Council," he said.
The stadiums were built on council land and as such the ownership was with the council while the Wanganui Community Sports Centre retained the right to occupy.
"We believe that our set-up is unique in that it is the only sporting or swimming complex in New Zealand that does not require local authority funding annually to balance the books.
"This arrangement has stood the test of the last 50 years and I am sure that the council will wish for a 50-year repeat."
The anniversary gathering on November 13 was attended by two people who were at those first two meetings in October and November, 1962.
One was Bill Tolhurst, the chairman at the time and a key driving force in making the dream happen.
The other was Nelson Tizard. His first duty was as auditor but the following year became secretary, a position he held for many years.
Both men were later made life members of the sports centre.
Mr Feist paid tribute to both men and all the others who worked so hard to make the dream a reality.
In an interview with the Chronicle in 2010, Mr Feist said the complex at Springvale Park was the envy of many other cities and towns.
"Here we are of the sports, for the sports and by the sports, and that's how we succeed. It's a place for the member sports first and foremost."