Re-dressing the Springvale Stadium's flooring will be possible with a $10,000 grant from NZCT. Bi-yearly redressing of the Jubilee and Springvale Stadium floors enables the Wanganui Community Sports Centre to promote and obtain many local, regional and national tournaments. In the absence of any financial assistance from the Whanganui District Council, this grant will be a great help in acquiring these events.
Secretary/Manager Alan Kenny commented, “The benefits from this grant are significant. They include allowing the committee to set venue charges at affordable levels and attract numerous national, regional and local tournaments that have great economic and health benefits for the community. The facilities are not rate-payer funded, so ongoing financial assistance from the NZCT is crucial for the survival of organisations such as ours.”
The Wanganui Community Sports Centre manages the development, operation and maintenance of the Jubilee and Springvale complexes at little cost to ratepayers in the district. The complexes are used and enjoyed by a broad cross-section of the local community. As the complexes have aged and the demand for higher standards of facilities increased, the management board sought additional financial assistance to ensure this valuable asset to the city remains competitive. Extensive consultation with user groups and work already completed by the board identified a number of key issues that required urgent attention and funding. The building and development of modern sports complexes around the country added pressure to compete for major sporting events. The Sports Centre Committee recognised the need to develop a forward-looking programme that will assess the needs of the community, protect valuable assets, and ensure that it continues to develop.