Artificial Sportsfield Surfaces - Overview

Muddy winter sportsfield

Wellington City Council is working to improve sporting facilities by creating artificial sportsfield surfaces. Four artificial sportsfields have been constructed since 2009 - Nairnville Park (2009), Te Whaea (2010), and two surfaces at Wakefield Park (2011).

The Long-Term Council Community Plan (LTCCP) includes the construction of three more artificial sportsfield surfaces in the next six years.

Sportsfield at Wellington College

In April 2011, Council approved a grant of $660,000 for construction of an artificial sportsfield at Wellington College during the 2011/12 financial year.

News Release - 21.04.11

Construction of the sportsfield started in October and is expected to be completed by February 2012 in time for the winter sports season.

Background

Many Council sportsfields are currently being used more often than is sustainable. Winter is especially a pressure point as grounds are regularly closed during this period causing frustration for sports organisations, players, spectators and volunteers.

A number of factors have contributed to the pressure on the Council's sportsfields:

• more people playing sport, particularly football
• limited flat land available for new sportsfield development
• a high annual rainfall (over 1,200mm annually)
• nearly one-quarter of Council sportsfields are on closed landfills with ongoing subsidence, requiring careful management and monitoring
• many of the sportsfields are on clay-based soil and so have poor drainage
• traditional winter sports are now being played in summer, causing conflict between winter and summer codes over use and providing less time for ground preparation
• the growth of professional sports
• an increase in sporting events
• an increase in training on the fields, which is lowering the quality of the sportsfields for competition (many are used for both training and weekend match play).

More Information

Related Links

• Long-Term Council Community Plan 2009/19
• Sportsgrounds - Locations

Department Details:
Policy