Plans unveiled for $14.5m sports centre | Bay of Plenty News | Local News in Bay of Plenty

A milestone has been reached in the controversial $14.5 million project to build a new bowls and croquet complex at Mount Maunganui that will become "the envy" of New Zealand.

Years of wrangling and in-fighting among city councillors were put aside yesterday when plans were unveiled for Mount Greens Sports.

The project involving a council injection of $11 million nearly came unstuck on several occasions over funding issues, but that was forgotten yesterday when councillors were updated on progress towards the $3.2 development of the Totara St site into three bowling greens and six croquet lawns.

The crippling costs of building a new clubhouse for bowls and croquet clubs seeking to relocate to the new venue almost sank the deal, but then the Mount Cosmopolitan Club seized an opportunity to secure its future.

In exchange for council purchasing its nearby property for $6.3 million, the Cosmopolitan Club agreed to go in with Mount Greens Sports by meeting nearly two-thirds of costs of a new $5 million clubhouse.

The deal has unlocked large segments of the Mount's Coronation Park and May St Reserve from leases to bowls and croquet, and allowed a strategically important extension of Blake Park into the Cosmopolitan Club site.

Plans showing how Mount Greens will look once it opens in December 2010 were shown to councillors, with a commentary by Ross Linney from the Mount Bowling Club.

A review of the detailed design approved by Mount Greens Sports was due to be completed by the end of this week, after which the contract to develop the site would go out to tender. 

Mr Linney said he was delighted with where they had reached in the project.

"The whole city will be very proud of what we end up with and others will envy it."

The main entrance off Tawa St will lead into a carpark and the clubhouse with a structure modelled on the Mount.

Mount Greens Sports have agreed to fund $300,000 of site development costs, paying for the amenities block, and shade structures and seating around the bowling greens and croquet lawns.

A one-metre high bund topped with noise-proof fencing will separate the complex from Totara St.

The design of the combined Cosmopolitan Club/Mount Greens clubhouse features a big rear lounge for members, with room for snooker, pool and darts.

The two-storeyed portion of the clubhouse fronting the greens will feature ground-floor restaurant facilities, which extend to outdoor dining in the summer. Upstairs will include conference facilities and a viewing balcony looking across the greens. There will be room for a temporary grandstand to be built between the two main bowling greens and facilities for TV cameras to film international bowling test matches.

 The artificial green will be built by the manufacturer of bowling greens used in the Commonwealth Games.

Council is also paying the bowls and croquet clubs' $1.8 million share of the 2000sqm combined clubhouse.