Stadium, gym work set to start in Whangarei

Work on the new $5.6 million Northland Athletics and Gymnastics Stadium is expected to begin in September.

The Northland Athletics and Gymnastics Stadium Trust, set up to establish the facility, has approved Whangarei company Trigg Construction as the principal contractor in the development of the building to overlook the athletics track.

Stadium trust administrator and trustee Brent Eastwood says the development will include facilities for both athletics and gymnastics.

A 500-seat grandstand will overlook the finish line of the athletics track and other amenities will include a photo-finish and announcement room, storage below the grandstand and an office.

The gymnastics part of the facility will include a 1,600 metre2 gymnastics stadium, spectator seating over the gym floor, an office and a first aid room.

Shared facilities will include changing rooms, toilets, kitchen, canteen, interior storage room, first aid room, cleaning storage room and a spacious lounge.

Eastwood says the board was delighted a local contractor had come out on top and was looking forward to the project getting under way, stating "the construction of this facility has been a vision of the trust's for over 10 years. To now see it about to begin is a fantastic feeling for all involved."

The facility will also be used by many other organisations, including Marist Rugby, which is already using the inside grassed area of the athletics track as their home ground. It is expected this will be extended to include the changing rooms and other facilities once complete.

Eastwood says grants from the Whangarei District Council, the ASB Community Trust and seed funding from Whangarei Academy of Gymnastics and athletics has been instrumental in getting the project to where it is now and demonstrates the level of support the project has received.

Although some money still needs to be found, the trust is confident a current funding application will succeed.

The development will enable codes to bid for regional and national events and provide a permanent home for gymnastics which has had inadequate facilities for years.

Whangarei District Council has been working with the groups concerned on the proposals and has made $1 million available from July for the cost of the gym and $3.75 million for the athletics development.

The trust has also received a $1.08 million ASB grant for the project.

Initial work on the site has seen the relocation of 10 houses and a local road shifted east to make way for the stadium.

About the Northland Athletics and Gymnastics Stadium Trust
The Northland Athletics and Gymnastics Stadium Trust (formerly the Northland All-Weather Track Trust) is a Charitable Trust and was established in 2000 to develop an athletics facility in Northland.

After the completion of the athletics track in 2010, the trust turned its attention to the supporting facilities required to operate a first-class athletics venue. It soon found a willing partner in the Whangarei Academy of Gymnastics, which had been looking for a home for a number of years.

The new partnership soon resulted in the name change as well as a change to the make-up of trustees. The board now consists of two athletics appointees, two gymnastics appointees, one Sport Northland appointee, one Whangarei District Council appointee and three independents.

The trust leases the land from the council, owns (but contracts out the management of) the athletics track and will own the facility when completed (the future management of the entire venue is still to be decided by the trust).

The trust contracts Sport Northland to provide the administrative function for its operation.