Porritt Park has best facility in N.Z.

Press, 10 April 1987, Page 26

Porritt Park has best facility in N.Z.

In July 1983 members of the Canterbury Hockey Association and Canterbury Women’s Hockey Association, and some Christchurch City councillors, were jolted when it was announced that the Wellington Hockey Association had received a Government grant to assist in the financing of the first artificial hockey surface in New Zealand. The Canterbury associations believed they had the strongest case to receive the grant because they had existing facilities at Porritt Park — a grandstand which included a lounge and changing facilities. The Wellington associations received the nod for the grant in what Canterbury administrators felt was a political decision,

and Canterbury had to wait three years before it could proceed with installing an artificial surface at Porritt Park.

On Sunday a new Deso Astrograss sand-filled pitch will be officially opened after a $500,000 redevelopment at Porritt Park.

Mr Jim Bowden, the chairman of the joint committee of the men’s and women’s associations, which will be responsible for administering the Park, boasting that Canterbury now has the best facilities for the sport in New Zealand.

The Wellington Hockey Association has only the artificial surface, lights and surrounding embankments at Mount Albert Park. It did not have the finance available to build

facilities, although they are planned. The only other artificial hockey pitch is at Whangarei and the changing and lounge facilities' are several hundred metres from the playing surface. Canterbury hockey has been presented with its proud new possession a year ahead of schedule. Initially the plan was to lay the surface at the end of the 1987 season.

The project was hastened in December 1985 when the city council and hockey associations received a grant of $300,000 from the New Zealand Lottery Board. The grant represented 60 per cent of the expected cost.

The hockey associations had to raise $150,000 and

they started planning immediately.

A special board — the Canterbury Hockey Artificial Surface Appeal committee — was formed and it planned its fund raising activities over a three year period. But because the completion date was brought forward by a year much of that activity has been compressed into two years. A levy was imposed on players and the final installments on those will be collected this year. Mr Bowden said this week that by the end of the 1987 season the two Canterbury associations will have fulfilled their $150,000 contribution towards the redevelopment In addition to the Lottery board grant, and the contribution from the hockey associations, the city council has contributed $105,000 towards the project.

The reconstruction of the park has included the laying of the artificial playing surface — an area of 7085 square metres; the installation of floodlights which will enable matches to be played at night; moving the embankments closer to the playing surface; moving the scoreboard closer to the ground; providing a changing room for women umpires; and the construction of a press and broadcasting box in the stand.

Saturdays and Sundays will be used for men’s Ser and women’s and senior reserve matches. By playing on both days, starting at 9 a.m., a full round of each grade can be played. In addition, each Sunday, one college A boys grade game will be played.

The New Zealand women’s hockey association has introduced a

national under 21 tournament for the first time this year and it will be played at Porritt Park during the May vacation. Not all matches can be played on the surface but it will be utilised throughout the day.

Over Queens Birthday Week-end the' first major tournament will be played at the Park. The Post Bank Champions tournament involvings the top five teams from the national championship in Wellington last September, plus a President’s XI, chosen from the remaining provincial teams, will be played from May 28 to June 1. In November the Australian Institute of Sport men’s team will tour New Zealand and it will play three games in Christchurch. One match will be against Canterbury and the other two against a New Zealand XI.

During the week the surface will be used for club and representative practices and men’s and women’s subsidiary competitions. The subsidiary competitions will cater for the lower grade players keen to have a run on the surface. A subsidiary secondary schools* competition is planned for Wednesday afternoons between 3.00 p.m. and 5.30 p.m. Games will probably be 20 minutes each way. At present both associations are learning how to utilise their new asset and as time progresses they hope that additional competitions will be introduced, said Mr Bowden. Housewives, business house and summer midweek competitions are all possibilities the association will investigate.