Whakatāne District Council has approved $14.9 million for renewal works at Whakatāne War Memorial Hall.

At a council meeting last week, councillors had to decide whether to bring forward a funding decision intended for next year so planned work could be carried out more cost-effectively and with less disruption for hall users.

The council heard from staff that approving all the works needed for the hall now would save the council over $1 million, and up to $2 million in the long term.

A delegation from Sport Bay of Plenty and local sports groups spoke about the hall’s importance as the primary indoor sports space in the Eastern Bay.

Sport Bay of Plenty space and places team leader Duncan Pearce said the organisation had identified the hall as the No 2 capital development priority for the Bay of Plenty.

“Not only is it essential for Whakatāne, but it is essential for the whole Bay of Plenty.”

He described the rise in interest in indoor sports codes as “astronomical” and said he was concerned that multiple closures of the hall would have a detrimental effect on sports participation.

He compared it to the huge dip in sports participation during Covid lockdowns among students who were at the age when they would normally start new sports.

The dip followed those students through their senior school years.

“Kids will be lost from sport,” he said.

“We all know we are going to have to take a hit for improvements to be made to the hall for the long term,” he said.

However, Pearce said this would be preferable to disruption over multiple seasons.

He was joined by representatives of local basketball and badminton clubs.

He said this did not fully represent the sporting codes that used the hall, but not all could make it to the meeting.

The hall is also used for volleyball, skating sports such as roller derby and figure skating, mixed martial arts and darts.

Basketball is among the fastest-growing sports.

Basketball continues to grow rapidly across the Eastern Bay, with local clubs saying demand for court space is at an all-time high. Sports groups have welcomed Whakatāne District Council’s decision to invest in upgrading the Whakatāne War Memorial Hall, a key hub for indoor sport in the region.

Tauranga City Basketball general manager Mark Rogers said his organisation used the hall every week, with 55 teams.

The main concern with the hall was the floor being very slippery during wet weather because of condensation and a lack of weather tightness. New basketball hoops and a scoreboard were priorities for the association.

Erin Green, from Eastern Bay basketball association Te Aka Poitūkohu said there were a lot more children wanting to play basketball than the group could find court space for.

Representatives from Bay of Plenty Badminton and Whakatāne Badminton Club were also at the meeting.

Whakatāne club president Peter Stoove said the club had about 160 active members, not counting casual players.

He felt levels of interest could see the club grow to between 500 and 1000 members, but he was hesitant to let that happen until more court space became available.

Bay of Plenty Badminton general manager Delwyn Cooper said the association organised school events at the hall, having to have separate sessions for different grades and for girls and boys due to lack of court space.

The work had previously been planned to take place in phases.

Hall users had been told to expect it to be closed for up to six months from next year for phase one works to be completed.

This work, budgeted for in 2024, included weather-proofing the hall among other improvements needed to meet health and safety standards.

Funding for the second phase was to be brought before the council during next year’s long-term plan decision-making for approval.

While bringing the two phases together will mean a lengthier closure than planned for next year, the clubs agree this will be less disruptive than multiple closures.

Councillors were unanimous in agreeing to approve the funding, though noting the decision was inconsistent with the sequencing of decisions set out in the 2024-34 Long-Term Plan.

Deputy Mayor Julie Jukes summed up the decision, saying it made sense both from a hall users and ratepayer perspective.

“Do it once and do it right,” she said.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.