New Zealand Community Trust is pleased to announce a grant of $100,000 to the Hawke’s Bay Regional Sports Park Trust for the construction of a community cricket and boxing building. Central District Cricket and Hastings Giants Boxing have approached Mitre 10 Park to build a community facility to support their needs as both organisations need a new home. Hawke’s Bay Regional Sports Park Trust is committed to building this facility as part of their ten-year master plan and is well supported by the community.

"An indoor training facility for cricket and a boxing gym are a wonderful complement to current and planned future multi-sport facilities of the HB Community Fitness Centre Trust which also operates at Mitre 10 Park," HB Community Fitness Centre Trust chairman Sir Graeme Avery said. "The current new builds by the Trust include extension of the Pak'nSave Hastings Indoor Sports Centre, an accommodation hostel, and the Hawke's Bay Regional Aquatic Centre Olympic and learners' pools."

Central Districts Cricket Chief Executive Pete de Wet said the new building was eagerly awaited: "We moved our offices to the park several months ago and much of our fitness training is being undertaken at the EIT Institute of Sport and Health now. We can't wait to have the indoor centre here as well."

It will be the first time the group has had a purpose-built facility. They currently operate out of a council-owned facility in Eastbourne St, Hastings which they say has been fantastic, but the open shed style of the building will be conducive to the programmes they run and enable them to double the number of people they can mentor and train. The everyday classes and school groups will be run out of the new space as well as competitive boxing tournaments.

In 2007, Nelson Council sold Nelson Park for $18 million and the land was later developed for retail. Hastings District Council used $11 million of the sale proceeds to partly fund the Hawke's Bay Regional Sports Park and used much of the balance for the development of further Park space closer to town, including the William Nelson Park. The Hawke's Bay Regional Sports Park now represents a $25 million investment in sport and recreation in the area.

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