Christchurch could host national sports museum
Christchurch could become home to a $75 million national sports museum that would house a hall of fame, a research institute and give visitors chance to face 200kmh tennis serves or slam-dunk basketballs.
The National Sports Museum Trust of New Zealand outlined plans for a 7000 square metre site before city councillors yesterday. Architects have already drawn up plans, but the trust’s foundation president Bruce Ullrich said there $56,000 was needed to conduct a pre-feasibility study.
Yet to find a suitable site, Ullrich said the museum needed to be in the inner city, preferably in the cultural precinct or adjacent to the Town Hall so that it was accessible to other popular Christchurch attractions.
A former New Zealand Olympic and Commonwealth Games chef de mission, Ullrich said the trust had endured several years of frustration waiting to see if the museum could be part of the new stadium due to be completed in 2024 – only to find out there was unlikely to be enough space.
Once the feasibility study is complete, progress could be made on finding a suitable site, and the trust would commence talks with government, council and surrounding districts on funding, he said.
A national public appeal would also be launched in the expectation that a number of charitable trusts would support the project. A proposed design for the museum by Dalman Architects includes voluminous spaces that allow for interactive displays such as kicking rugby balls between posts, facing tennis serves and basketball.
The trust has also been in talks about incorporating the Dunedin-based New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame into the new museum, and has invited the University of Canterbury to consider proposals to incorporate an international sports research institute, digital national sports archives and a national sports library into the project.
In the meantime, the trust is in the early stages of developing an online digital museum to stand as a proxy until a physical museum may be constructed.
‘‘This is a huge opportunity for this country,’’ Ullrich said.
Sport Canterbury chief executive Julyan Falloon said the concept was good because New Zealand did not have an equivalent. ‘‘There is a gap.’’
Falloon said a project of this cost and magnitude would need a detailed pre-feasibility study to be conducted but believed the museum could deliver a world-class bi-cultural experience.
Cricketing great Sir Richard Hadlee has added his support to the trust’s ‘‘wonderful vision’’ to have the museum located in Christchurch.
‘‘We are a city full of arts, museums, and sporting heritage that we are proud of, and it would be fitting for Christchurch to have a high-quality sporting facility to recognise what we as a nation have achieved.’’ Hadlee said New Zealand had performed superbly on the international stage and the museum would preserve and protect sporting history.
Since the earthquakes, Christchurch had been through a lot of hardship, he told The Press, but now a new, fresh, vibrant city was being rebuilt in a changing landscape.