Sideline Sid Sports correspondant & historian www.sunlive.co.nz

A story on SunLive about the tree trimming at Coronation Park at the Mount got Sidline Sid thinking about the sports grounds and parks in the Western Bay.

When I came to the Mount over 40 years ago, soccer was played at Coronation Park, albeit with very basic facilities. This was long before the park almost in the Mount CBD became a passive reserve.

There were no changing facilities with the players using either the nearby toilets or getting changed in their cars.

Around the same era rugby league courtesy of the Mount Waterside team, who were beginning to get a foothold in the region, were relegated to Moa Park in the Mount – where the same issue of lack of changing facilities was a problem.

Wharepai Domain has stood idle as a sporting venue for well over a decade. It is ironic that while there are no Rugby World Cup games in Tauranga – that Wharepai Domain is playing a small part in the Bay of Plenty World Cup activities.

The reason for the use of Wharepai Domain is to relieve the traffic on the number one ground at the nearby Tauranga Domain, as it is prepared as a training ground for the World Cup teams that will be hosted in Tauranga.

The Tauranga and Mount Maunganui region has come a long way since the days of teams getting changed on the sidelines. Sidline Sid, believes that two mayors of their time played a big part in where today most outdoor sports, enjoy quality playing fields and more than adequate changing facilities.

Keith ‘Nobby' Clarke and Noel Pope, who both had strong sporting backgrounds, led councils that were proactive in providing top class sporting amenities.

The much hated ground user charges were revoked, which seemed to rekindle an enthusiasm for clubs and council to work together to provide good quality sporting venues.

While there is always a call for bigger and better – what we have today fills the needs of grassroots sports quite effectively. Rugby provides a good example of the local grounds fitting the local grassroots need.

The local rugby clubs either have clubrooms, or the use of such as the Gordon Spratt Reserve Sports complex that has good sized changing rooms, on Tauranga City grounds. Judea and Rangataua have the luxury of owing their land, while further out in the Western Bay Council region the local clubs appears to have a good relationship with the local body.

However, from time to time, letters to the editor bemoan the fact of top class rugby facilities in the Western Bay. The Tauranga Domain reached its use-by date a long time ago as a NPC rugby venue.

The real issue is where the Bay of Plenty ITM Cup games should be played in the region. The Sulphur City rugby followers always go for the Rotorua International Stadium, however, the Rotorua locals usually stay away in their droves.

While many will say that Baypark is just a speedway, the Chiefs game the other night proved that the ground can accommodate almost capacity crowds with ease. It has a multitude of parking, excellence player facilities, and stadium style seating that can accommodate a heap more spectators under cover than the Rotorua ground.

There rests my case for playing all the Bay of Plenty ITM Cup home games at Baypark.

Seeya at the Game