Final Boroughs basketball court opens in Glen Innes
Spark and the Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board opened a brand-new, community basketball court at Elstree North Reserve in
Glen Innes today.
Nicknamed ‘The Post Office’ by locals, the court comes with free Spark WiFi and is the final of five courts to be
delivered as part of Spark and Auckland Council’s ‘Spark Boroughs’ project. The new East Auckland court follows the
opening of courts in North, West and Central Auckland late last year, and South Auckland the year before.
Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board members joined Auckland Council representatives, Spark staff, local Tamaki Regeneration
Company representatives and basketball teams from neighbouring Tāmaki College for a formal ribbon cutting and a maiden
basketball game to christen the new facility and hand it over to the community.
Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board member Chris Makoare said the board were really pleased to be able to partner with Spark
to create the court in Glen Innes.
“The purpose of the Boroughs project, ‘to create spaces where Auckland young people could engage with a sport they love,
in the ways they wanted to,’ fits perfectly with the board’s priority to provide opportunities for people in our
community to increase physical activity through leisure activities.”
Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board Chair Josephine Bartley said “Basketball courts are hugely popular and the standard of
this court is awesome. I’m sure with the free Wi-Fi we’ll see lots of social media activity showing off people’s
skills.”
Spark’s Head of Brand, Communications and Experience, Sarah Williams, said the company was thrilled to deliver the new
facility to the Glen Innes community: “We hope local families and young people embrace the new space, take pride in it
and enjoy it as their own.
“For us, this court is pretty special as it marks the completion of a project we’ve put a lot of work into with Auckland
Council and communities across the city. It’s been a huge privilege to do this, and we’ve been truly humbled to start
seeing these spaces used in amazing ways by their communities.”
Like the other four Boroughs basketball courts, the Elstree North Reserve court comes complete with free Spark WiFi,
something Williams hopes will enable basketballers to share their experiences with others around the city, as they
happen.
“Over forty thousand people have used the WiFi at the other courts since they opened, so we know it’s something
basketballers and spectators are going to love having available.”
ENDS