HOCKEY GROUNDS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23152, 26 September 1938, Page 15

HOCKEY GROUNDS

REMUEKA PROPERTY IMPROVEMENTS BEGUN # £I3OO UNEMPLOYMENT SUBSIDY Extensive improvements to its grounds in Market Road, Pemucra, have been commenced by the Auckland Hockey Association, with the aid of a subsidy of £I3OO from the Employment Hoard. Twenty men employed under No. Jo scheme are now at work, and it is expected that the project will be completed, except for grassing, by the end of the year. The association, which has occupied the property for a long period on temporary tenures, last year obtained a 21 years' lease from the owners, the Dilworth Trust Hoard, and now is in a position to carry out works which it has had in mind for some time past. The whole of the wage costs are being met by subsidy, and the association has made arrangements for financing the balance. Space for Tennis Courts At present the property contains nine hockey fields, of which one, in tho south-eastern corner, is below standard size. Building-up and levelling will lip carried out along the rear boundary and in the areas behind those leased bv the Hemucra Howling and Tennis Clubs. By this means No. 7 ground will be made completely level and brought up to full size. A lower area, large enough for four tennis courts, in the corner beside the railway line, will be made available either for tennis or as a team practice ground. Formation work along the eastern boundary will enable Nos. 8 and 9 grounds to be moved further in that direction, allowing a strip alonj; which spectators can pass without, interfering with play, and some other adjustments will also be made. A further area in the north-eastern corner is to be levelled for practice purposes or for tennis. It is hoped also to develop the piece of ground immediately behind the pavilion, possibly for a tennis court. Great Number ol Teams When the scheme is completed the whole of tho property will have been brought into use. The work done will be of much benefit to the Suburban Cricket • Association, which plays an average of nine matches there on Saturday afternoons in summer, as more space will be added to the outfields. The Hockey Association now has 17 affiliated clubs, and in the 1938 season 57 teams were playing in the ordinary grades, while schools fielded 15 to 20 more. The Ladies' Hockey Association is allowed the use of two grounds at Hemuera on Saturdays. As hockey is a players' game and does not attract many spectators, the association has never had any large amount of money at its disposal, and the present assistance from the Employment Promotion Fund is therefore most welcome. The expenditure will be of great assistance to a particularly good form of outdoor sport, which attracts hundreds of players, and it is quite in harmony with the Government's plan for promoting physical welfare and recreation.