Wellington Sports Need More Artificial Playing Surfaces - Now Please

Media Release from John Bishop, candidate for the Wellington City Council in the Lambton Ward.

The Wellington City Council is budgeting to spend less than a million dollars on artificial playing surfaces in the current financial year even though hundreds of games are being cancelled each week because the grass pitches are unplayable.

“Installing more artificial pitches quickly would be the biggest single thing that the council could do for the families and sports people of Wellington, but somehow it’s not a high priority. I want to change that,” says Lambton Ward candidate John Bishop

“It’s been the same story all winter with many codes losing most or all of their games each week due to the state of the grounds. Kids, teenagers, adults and masters grades have all been badly affected, and this winter repeats the pattern of previous years.

“The answer is artificial surfaces. They cost about one and half million dollars each (including floodlights) but the pitches can be used ten hours a day (or more), seven days a week.

“A grass pitch might be used for a few hours a week at best, and is totally unusable if it rains a lot.”

“The council has got its priorities wrong,” Mr Bishop says, and I am firmly in favour of adjusting them so that we get more pitches more quickly than the council currently plans.”

“The one artificial pitch at Te Whaea is a runaway success. We need many more like it. All winter sporting codes will benefit, and so will sportspeople from the youngest kids through to the more mature grades.”

(Wellington City Council’s Annual Plan states on page 77 that $439 000 has been budgeted in the current year for operational expenditure on ‘synthetic turf sportsfields’ and a further $568 000 is budgeted for capital expenditure. Income is given at $175 000. This means that the council’s net expenditure from rates is $832 000).

ENDS

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