Counting the cost to keep score in Ashburton

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:

New scoreboards will allow Ashburton’s stadium to stay in the game and continue to boost the local economy.

That’s according to Basketball Mid Canterbury president Mark Douglas, who appealed to the Ashburton District councillors to upgrade the EA Networks Centre's scoreboards following some serious failures.

Douglas said with Timaru planning a new 8-court upgrade and Christchurch’s new Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre set to open next year, Ashburton can’t afford to fall behind.

Basketball Mid Canterbury has regularly hosted national tournaments at the venue, with three this year, and needs to remain a respected venue for them to keep coming, he said.

“These events have wide-ranging and significant financial benefits for our district.

“It’s imperative that we keep offering a top-notch venue to our users here in Mid Canterbury.

“The only issue we have ever had with the venue is the reliability of the scoreboards.”

Faults with the scoreboard have been getting progressively worse in recent months and were highlighted during a recent New Zealand Basketball tournament at the venue in October, he said.

Council’s sport and recreation manager Richard Wood told councillors that one court’s scoreboard and a shot clock on another court have completely failed.

Combined with “lagging issues” on clocks it is impacting users on all four courts.

“They are used every day for every sport.”

The option to fix or replace the faulty scoreboards would have caused further issues down the line as the current supplier is no longer stocking the scoreboards from the end of this year, Wood said.

The electronic scoreboards were scheduled for replacement next year with a budget of $100,000, but with the recent failures, the councillors approved bringing the upgrade forward.

A quote from a new supplier for $64,000 and $10,000 installation contingency, saved the council $26,000, Wood said.

The project will be funded by accumulated depreciation, and the cost of advancing it (10% of the project cost) will be covered by existing operational budgets.

Councillor Tony Todd said the “credibility of the centre will come into disrepute” if the equipment is faulty and supported bringing the project forward.

Councillor Liz Mcmillan said an up-to-date stadium was a must as it brings a lot of money into the district, considering teams also stay in Methven and Rakaia during tournaments.

Councillor Rob Mackle was the only councillor to vote against the motion, believing the user groups should be helping fund the scoreboards.

“Not all our ratepayers are users,” Mackle said.

People and facilities general manager Sarah Mosely said bringing the project forward helped maintain the stadium's level of service and has economic benefits from hosting tournaments.

The three national basketball tournaments in the last year resulted in $21,000 of revenue just to the centre, Wood said.

Mosley also noted that the existing sponsorship deal expires next year when the centre turns 10 and a renewal process will take place.

With the council's approval, it’s expected the new scoreboards will be installed early next year.

Mid Canterbury Netball centre manager Erin Tasker was celebrating the decision.

Tasker said the scoreboards are vital to all of the sports that use the stadium.

“We have a great facility here and when people visit from other netball centres they are always impressed by the set up, so it's vital that the quality is maintained so the stadium's good reputation is maintained.”