Arena upgrade gets thumbs up from MRU
Manawatu¯ Rugby Union chief executive John Knowles believes the proposed upgrades to CET Arena will see it be in higher demand from other sporting codes.
Knowles gave the proposal the thumbs up from a rugby point of view and said it was a major positive for the region.
Palmerston North City Council’s venues and events manager John Lynch presented a $25 million master plan to the council’s sport and recreation committee on Monday.
It included a new sports house and entrance off Cuba St, covered southern grandstand, new speedway pits and facilities and an allweather multi-sport turf within the next five years.
Beyond the 10-year horizon is a new facility to replace the ageing halls along Waldegrave St, another all-weather turf, and upgrades to the back fields near Oakley St.
The master plan, if approved, will be part of the council’s Longterm Plan which will go to public consultation in 2018.
Knowles believed the plans were the best option for everyone.
‘‘I think that it is a really positive move,’’ he said. ‘‘It is about time this town has [a stadium] to be proud of.’’
He said the proposed 3000-seat covered southern stand was the most cost-effective option to improve the stadium.
‘‘This is realistic from an affordability point of view,’’ he said. ‘‘The main interest that we have that they are intending on having hospitality suites, because that is where most of our revenue is generated from.’’
While the stand would not change how far away fans were from the field, he said that was something they had to accept due to the revenue that speedway added to the stadium.
But it was the artificial turfs that Knowles believed would attract the most attention from other sports.
‘‘It might put some pressure on rugby in not being able to be the strong hold in that stadium,’’ he said. ‘‘Even though they have said that they will be built to a standard that club rugby can be played on it, the demand may come in such a way that we find that we haven’t got the availability that we have always enjoyed.’’
Knowles said that didn’t mean the rugby union were concerned by the developments.
‘‘We don’t want to stand in the way of progress because we think that it is a good move,’’ he said.
With the Turbos running their in-season training sessions in the middle of the working day, the squad would likely have minimal issues getting access to the turf.
Knowles believed that the allweather field would tie in nicely with the rugby union’s Sports Performance Centre.
Meanwhile, Knowles said the rugby union had some interest in moving their offices from under the grandstand to the proposed sports house.
But without information about how much it would cost to rent space, they were not willing to commit to it adding that they were happy with their current set-up.