It’s game on for Te Puna Rugby Club with upgraded clubrooms on the horizon.

Te Puna Rugby Club is home to about 400 members from all walks of life. People as young as 5 and as old as 60 played in the club’s leagues.

But the club is now home to more than just rugby.

President Rawiri Kuka described the club as a “rugby, sports, and cultural club”.

The club now had netball and softball teams, a kapa haka group, and up to 18 cricket teams played every Thursday night.

But the rugby crowd was still going strong, with several teams across the junior and senior leagues.

At the junior level, there were two teams for under-5s and two teams for under-13s, while the senior league had a premier team, a development team, a women’s team, and a “Golden Oldies” team.

President of Te Puna Rugby Club Rawiri Kuka. Photo / Kelly O'Hara

Renovations were long overdue for the 107-year-old club.

It was founded in 1919, but the clubrooms were built in 1971. A second storey was added five years later.

The current infrastructure was 50 years old, and leakage problems had arisen through maintenance neglect.

The last renovations took place in the 1980s, when the internal toilets were expanded, a viewing deck was added, and the kitchen was extended.

“We decided that it’s easier to build rather than try and renovate, because you don’t know how long renovations will last,” Kuka said.

The club’s building committee came together in 2024 to formulate plans, deploying the skills of Valiant Building Services and Mod Architecture.

The new club would be twice the size of the current one, with greater capacity for functions.

The new clubroom will be twice the size of the old site and features a miniature grandstand. Photo / Valiant Building Services

Features included a commercial kitchen, bar, an outdoor tuck-shop, and a miniature grandstand.

With designs prepared, the next step for the club was to present to the Western Bay of Plenty District Council to obtain consents and permits.

Kuka said the club hoped to do this within the next three or four months.

The estimated cost for the plans and permits was $300,000, and the build was projected to cost $5 million.

Applications for funding would be necessary, but at this stage, the club was asking the community for pledges to help reach the estimated $300,000 in permit-related costs.

Kuka said the club was advertising for $1000 pledges from people who can help out, while other fundraising ideas were in the works.

Bijou Johnson is a multimedia journalist based in the Bay of Plenty. A passionate writer and reader, she grew up in Tauranga and developed a love for journalism while exploring various disciplines at university. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Classical Studies from Massey University.