Sport Whanganui has fomally opened its new community house at Springvale Park. Photo / Bevan Conley
Sport Whanganui has fomally opened its new community house at Springvale Park. Photo / Bevan Conley
A long term vision becomes a reality as Sport Whanganui has a new community hub fit for purpose.
After five months of construction, the new headquarters situated a Springvale park officially opened on Wednesday afternoon.
Large funding from New Zealand Community Trust enabled establishment and a new name for thehub, the NZCT Community Sport House.
Sport Whanganui chief executive Danny Jonas said they had a vision of having an active community participating in physical activity.
"The Community Sports House will bring the community and sport partners together to break down participation barriers and become more effective through shared services and a better collaborative working environment," Jonas said.
The process began with Sport Whanganui buying the existing buildings on site which previously housed the Masters Games headquarters as Sport Whanganui wanted to develop a central location.
The front half of the house is a new build and overall their footprint had doubled in size, Jonas said.
"The build, led by Shane Stone Builders has been incredibility efficient and easy to deal with resulting in a high quality structure," he said.
The decision to move to Springvale Park came down to an independent feasibility study that was carried out to identify the best location.
"The Community Sports House is based in the middle of existing Springvale grass fields, Springvale and Jubilee Stadiums, Splash Centre and the Community Bike Park – resulting in a complete hub for sport and recreation," he said.
In late March, Sport Whanganui staff and sporting partners from Whanganui Hockey, Central Football and Whanganui Bowls took up residence in the hub.
Sport Whanganui has a vision of having an active community participating in physical activity.
Jonas said an exciting aspect was the provision for more partners to be included.
"The most important resource within the sports house are the people.
"Both the Sport Whanganui staff and sporting partners within the Community Sports House bring professional sport and health expertise with a strong willingness to share knowledge."
The expertise offered will include health and safety, athlete development, event panning, strategic planning, competition, funding and governance.
The house will also be available to host professional meetings with services such as hot desks and video conference facilities.
Sport Whanganui hosted the CEO of Sport New Zealand, Peter Miskimmin, to formally open the new house that was first blessed by local Kaumatua John Maihi early Wednesday morning.
