The issue to be addressed by this review was the community desire for increased winter sports training capacity in Nelson. The objective of the report was to provide independent professional advice to Nelson City Council on whether a proposed artificial sports turf is the best solution to a shortage of playing fields in the Nelson City area, and if not, to make recommendations as to the best way to improve winter training opportunities.
This review of current capacity and user demand resulted from a Business Case for an artificial turf for Nelson that determined that constructing a turf was a sub-optimal solution to improve training opportunities.
This report considers four options to address the perceived service level gap for the provision of adequate training fields.
- Option 1 – Improve lighting and quality of existing grass fields
- Option 2 – New artificial turf suitable for both rugby and football
- Option 3 – New artificial turf for community sports training only
- Option 4 – Status quo
Option 1 was the preferred option and involved filling a backlog in supply by improving sports field maintenance and renovations. Increasing the area available for training caters for both backlog and growth in demand. There is an increased level of service required in terms of Council assuming responsibility for lighting assets that have traditionally been the responsibility of clubs.
