Collaboration a key feature of The Peak
Collaboration a key feature of The Peak
The Peak Te Pumanawa o Rototuna - a new indoor recreation centre in northeast Hamilton - is an exemplar of a collaborative approach to regional facilities planning being championed and supported by Sport NZ.
The 3,470m2 facility was opened today by Prime Minister Bill English. It is the consequence of the Waikato Regional Sports Facilities Plan, which identified the need for indoor courts as a top priority for Hamilton City.
Built on the site of the new Rototuna Senior and Junior High Schools, The Peak is the result of a partnership between the Ministry of Education, the Rototuna High Schools’ Establishment Board of Trustees and Hamilton City Council.
Facilitated by Sport Waikato, with assistance from Sport NZ, a collaborative approach and investment from Hamilton City Council has enabled four full sized indoor courts to be built for both school and community use, instead of the school constructing just two three-quarter sized gymnasiums for use by school students.
The $9.2 million facility will cater to indoor sports including volleyball, basketball, netball, futsal, and badminton, and a range of community programmes from pre-school gym to exercise classes for seniors.
Sport NZ’s General Manager of Community Sport, Geoff Barry, says collaboration among communities is critical to ensure sport and active recreation facilities are created that are fit-for-purpose and meet the needs of communities now and in the future.
“It may seem to be stating the obvious to say that facilities should meet an identified need and be fit for purpose, but historically sports facilities have tended to be planned and built in isolation.”
Rototuna is a great example of the outcome of a collaborative approach to identifying facility needs at a local and regional level, he says – an approach that Sport NZ is advocating for nationally through work with all its regional sports trust (RST) partners to develop regional spaces and places (facilities) strategies for all 14 regions before the end of 2020.
“Sporting facilities are critically important in encouraging and growing participation in sport and active recreation. Through true partnership such as we’re seeing in Rototuna we can ensure facilities are built that are based on an identified need, and can be adaptable, well used and financially sustainable over their useable life - which can be up to 50 years.”
