Council digs in to upgrade sports grounds

Christchurch sports grounds are being improved to provide quality surfaces that will withstand wet weather and growing demand.

Christchurch City Council is carrying out upgrades at Sydenham Park, Wainoni Park, Leslie Park, Papanui Domain, Tulett Park and Carlton Mill Corner.

Sydenham Park is being improved with four new cricket blocks being built.

Drainage at these fields has been poor in the past, meaning they cannot be played on for a full sports season. The work that is being carried out involves laying new turf and installing better drainage and irrigation so the fields will provide a suitable playing surface for longer.

Work at Sydenham Park, on the corner of Colombo and Brougham Streets is the largest project with four new cricket blocks to be constructed, including a practice block and three playing wickets with Heathcote clay surfaces, and three new sand carpet playing fields. The old cricket wicket is being removed and the clay will be reused.

New drainage and irrigation systems will also be installed and the playing fields will be replanted. Work should be finished by the end of the year.

Carlton Mill Corner, the corner of North Hagley Park that borders Park Terrace and Harper Avenue, is being relevelled to correct earthquake damage, and natural grass fields constructed. New irrigation and drainage is also being installed, with a new mains pipe connection installed from Park Terrace. The work is expected to be complete by October.

At Tulett Park in the city’s north west, a new cricket block has been constructed, and new irrigation and drainage has been installed. The old playing fields have been replaced by sand-based fields and new grass is growing. 

Similar work has been carried out at Wainoni Park, where one sand field has been created and another grass field has been resown. The ground should be ready by August.

At Papanui Domain, the installation of an automatic irrigation system and partial resowing of grounds is close to completion. Work is also underway at Leslie Park to establish a new high-quality sports turf surface and automatic irrigation system that can be used year-round. Completion is expected toward the end of the year.

The work at Wainoni Park and Leslie Park will enable the fields to be used as training grounds during the November 2017 Rugby League World Cup.

Council Head of Parks Andrew Rutledge says while the Rugby League World Cup has played a factor in the timing of the upgrade work, the Council's primary objective is to support community sport by ensuring teams have good quality grounds to play on throughout the season.

“These upgrades will help the grounds stand up to the longer playing seasons and increasing demand that we’re seeing now. We’re looking forward to having some really high quality sports fields out there for our teams and their supporters to enjoy.”