17 October 2019
Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Diversity of newly elected Council
Enquiry
Reporter sought comment from Mayor Steve Chadwick about the diversity of the newly elected Rotorua Council.
Response
From Mayor Steve Chadwick:
The community has spoken and I see the make-up of the new council as endorsement of the strategic direction that has been set.
I am meeting all the councillors elect to hear about their aspirations and I think we have a great mix around the table, with both experience and people new to council and/or governance.
The demographic diversity elected by Rotorua is very representative of our place.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Media: BOP Times/Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Stadiums
Enquiry
I'm working on a story for the Rotorua Daily Post about stadiums - Rotorua's and Tauranga's. I'm wondering if you can tell me what average attendance is for rugby games (like the BOP Steamers)?
Which events the past year have seen the highest attendance?
What effect do you think a new Tauranga stadium would have on the use of Rotorua's stadium?
What other events (beyond) sporting is Rotorua's stadium used for?
Response
From Sport, Recreation and Environment Manager Rob Pitkethley:
Rotorua International Stadium and the wider Westbrook precinct provide for a diverse range of activities and events which we are looking to continue to grow and develop for our community.
We have a proven record of hosting at the International Stadium including Rugby World Cup games, British Lions, the Phoenix football team, the Warriors, and national and international tournaments including Sevens and Touch. The facility has also hosted major events like Te Matatini, music festivals and concerts.
The stadium is a proven night time venue. This Friday, for example, we are hosting the Mitre 10 Cup semi-final between BOP Steamers and Manawatu.
While the stadium is the centrepiece, our wider Westbrook sports precinct provides additional fields and space that can add to event offerings and has great future potential.
As a city we also offer a unique Te Arawa cultural overlay and have the accommodation options to enable us to host thousands of visitors. Our many tourism operations add to the reasons why event organisers come to Rotorua.
We view the stadium as being part of the wider Webstbrook community facility and it is used regularly by local sporting codes as well as for regional and national sporting events, along with the likes of an annual National Dog Show and music events/festivals.
The stadium is also used for functions and is used by:
- Performance Training Centre which runs 10 sessions a week;
- Tenants based there - ie Central BOP Rugby, WASP, Referees Association, Dominate Events, BOP Rugby, Geyser Cricket Club;
- Cricket indoor net training - 4 nights a week in season;
- Sports Resilience programmes;
- Toi Ohomai classroom - 6 month lease; Events the past year and attendance:
- Maori All Blacks v Fiji - 15,000
- NZ Maori Rugby League Nationals and IPS Northern Region Touch Tournament - about 4000 each
- Touch nationals (2 events: juniors and seniors) - about 3000 attendance at each
- National Dog Show - about 2000
- Average attendance at BOP Steamers games this season - about 1500 You may also be interested, if you haven't already seen it, in the Regional Spaces and Places Strategy that councils in the BOP have agreed to and which was led by Sport BOP and Sport NZ - see link HERE on Sport BOP website
