An independent assessment of The Domain athletics track has revealed accelerating decay to the facility that will now need resurfacing ahead of schedule.

The Cameron Road track cost $1.5 million when it was constructed in 2007/08, with the council contributing $330,000.

The Domain athletics track will only last another three years in its current condition.

It was originally expected to last 15 years, but inspections have revealed it has little more than a three-year lifespan remaining.

Most of the initial money was paid by the Tauranga Millennium Track Trust (TMTT) and the athletics community. The completed track is owned by the city council, but wasn't depreciated.

Authorities and the trust are now facing a replacement bill of $790,300 for work that will have to take place during the 2017/18 financial year. The TMTT, however, has no money.

'It's not quite getting to its life time because of general public use and the UV, but that's okay,” says Mayor Stuart Crosby today.

'We are going to put in our Ten Year Plan - what we believe will be half of its replacement costs. We are going to then fully depreciate it so when it needs to be replaced again, the money will be there.

'Then we are going to have a conversation with the athletic clubs about a contribution for the use of it. That will happen over the next six months. Initially we only made a contribution and a trust raised the balance - well over a million dollars.

'We are going to work with the trust to support them finding the balance of the replacement costs so they are on a more sustainable financial footing.”

The council is agreeing to pay half - $395,150 - subject to the TMTT finding the rest. Joint applications are also likely to be made to external funding agencies.

Opportunities for sponsorship and naming rights of the athletics track could also be explored to assist in securing external funding opportunities.

In future, the council will fully fund future depreciation of the track based on the resurfacing of the sprint track at seven years and full track replacement at 14 years, at a cost of $60,000 each year.

This approach provides more certainty in terms of the continued provision of athletics in Tauranga and recognises council's ownership of the track.

Council staff are also set to develop an appropriate charging regime for inclusion in the Users Fees and Charges schedule of the draft 2015-25 Long Term Plan.

Staff will work with the athletics clubs and key users of the track to develop an appropriate charging regime to recover some of the costs associated with future surface renewal. This will be bought back to council for consideration before the track is resurfaced.

The track is free for public use and is used by about 930 athletes each week for club training.

Around 16 school athletics days take place each season involving about 7000 participants and there are about 19 regional and national events at club each season involving 5000 people.