Traffic holds up fans

A larger-than-expected crowd, coupled with late arrivals, has been blamed for some fans missing the start of a Tactix netball match.

The all-kiwi affair against the Waikato-bay of Plenty Magic at CBS Canterbury Arena on Saturday attracted about 4000 fans. However, 100 spectators reportedly missed part of the first quarter after traffic delays outside the complex.

The match at Addington’s new sports hub was part of a doubleheader, with the Crusaders playing Auckland’s Blues in a Super Rugby rugby clash at AMI Stadium. It was the first time events had been held at the complex on the same day since the stadium opened in March.

Yesterday, Tactix chief executive Pete Smith said he was not aware of any spectators missing the start of the match, though the day had been ‘‘reasonably unique’’ with back-to- back sporting events using the same car park.

‘‘I was inside the [arena] from 3pm and had no idea what was going on on the outside,’’ Smith said. ‘‘I do have to say the Cantabs are a bit notorious about turning up late and expecting to get in the door.’’

Vbase chief executive Russell Kenny, who was in the car park before the match, said there had been more cars at the netball than expected. The entrances had been cleared before the 4.20pm start, but the timing was ‘‘really tight’’.

‘‘If they were coming at quartertime, then they were late getting to the game. It wasn’t because they were in the queue,’’ he said.

Processing the $5 car park fee was a further delay that could not be avoided, Kenny said, but managing the departing netball and arriving rugby fans ‘‘worked really well’’.

‘‘I was really pleased. We got just about all of the [netball fans] out before the rugby [fans] came in.’’