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Pressure is mounting on Metro Park in Millwater, with one of the Coast’s fastest-growing sports clubs warning that facilities are struggling to cope with booming participation numbers and rapid residential growth.
Rodney District Sports representatives Colin Roberts and John Campson presented to the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board at its May meeting, outlining what they described as an urgent need for upgraded sporting infrastructure, increased parking and better community facilities at the park.
The club, which is the main user of Metro Park, says the venue now attracts more than 3500 people every week but still lacks a pavilion, playground, and sufficient changing rooms. Roberts said the club has grown rapidly in recent years, with membership now sitting at 1162 players, volunteers and coaches. Its growth had consistently exceeded 20 per cent annually for several years and it grew 34 per cent over the past year, he said.
Roberts also highlighted the strength of women’s football, with more than 12 female teams now playing at the club, making it one of the largest female football programmes north of the Harbour Bridge.
However, he said facilities had failed to keep pace.
Current amenities were basic and limited, with only two women’s toilets, two men’s toilets, a single changing room for each gender and one accessible toilet for a venue servicing thousands of weekly users.
Suitable parking was also identified as a major concern. Metro Park currently has 186 carparks and no dedicated accessible parking spaces. The club is seeking an additional 120 parks, saying congestion is already creating safety risks. The carpark is also boggy during winter.
Demand would continue to intensify as Millwater, Ōrewa and Milldale expanded. More than 11,000 homes are planned for Milldale alone, with future growth expected to push that figure to 17,000, Roberts said.
He told the board that Milldale’s development plans rely on Metro Park to service sporting demand rather than building additional local sports facilities.
Pressure was also mounting on the playing surfaces themselves. Sporting guidelines are that natural grass football pitches should be used for six to eight hours weekly, but Metro Park’s busiest fields are currently being used for up to 35 hours a week.
The overuse is placing enormous strain on the grounds and limiting future growth, with players already being turned away because of a lack of capacity, Roberts said.
Longer-term proposals include additional grass and all-weather pitches, cricket wickets, parking, lighting upgrades, a pavilion, playground and outdoor basketball court.
The board noted their requests and said it would investigate hold-ups with leasing arrangements and improving the lighting at the park.
