Upgrades all part of the master plan
New signage, retractable seating and a covered stand are the next items on top of the agenda for the Arena master plan.
The master plan, which is part of Palmerston North City Council’s 10-year Long Term Plan, is in its early years, but by the time it is done, there will be multiple upgrades to all of the Arena’s facilities.
Central Energy Trust Arena manager John Lynch said retractable seating in Arena 2, new entrance signage and a covered embankment in the stadium were his priorities in the next couple of financial years.
The first project in the plan was erection of new floodlights on the back fields, which were completed in May.
The next job is signage around the facility, with signs to be put up inside and outside the Arena indicating what each facility is from Arena 2, 3 and 4, to Barber Hall and Bell Hall.
That will be done this financial year.
Next year they will start putting retractable seating into Arena 2, going on both sides and one end of the indoor stadium.
The seats will be able to fold up and sit flush with the walls, so it can still be used for other things, not just sport, and saves them moving the stands in and out.
There are 4000 portable seats at the Arena.
The idea of covered seating on the embankment had been around for a while, but that finally would be done in the 2017-18 financial year, Lynch said.
‘‘I’m going through looking at that at the moment and what options there actually are for us to do over the other side [of the stadium],’’ he added.
They are yet to decide what actual covering will be constructed and whether any private investors will help fund it, as has been suggested in the past.
PVC coverings like at AMI Stadium in Christchurch and Toll Stadium in Whangarei, has been one idea, but they would have to determine how the structure would handle wind and how lime from the speedway track would affect it.
Other things in the plans are creating a main entrance on Cuba St, building a pedestrian concourse from the main entrance and moving the speedway pit area.
There should be a Sports House built for Sport Manawatu to be based in, near the Cuba St entrance, but it is undergoing a feasibility study first.
The timing of when things are done could depend on what happens with the feasibility study for the sports house.
A fifth rugby field will be added by 2023-24.
The council owns some of the houses at the end of Oakley St, which backs onto the Arena, so they will be removed.
Field four will be rotated so it is the same way around as fields two and three, and the new pitch will be added along side it.
There is the potential for one of those fields, or both, to be artificial pitches.
The last major changes at the Arena were in 2005 when they renovated the main grandstand. In 2003 they renovated Arena 2 and in 2000 they built the B&M Centre (Arena 4).
The Arena has about 3000 bookings per year.