Business Central December 2021

| 13 Palmerston North Council - Central Energy Trust Arena Revving things up in the heart of the city T Richard Loader Phase Two of Palmerston North’s 18.5 hectare Central Energy Trust Arena was completed in April. DEVELOPMENT HAVE YOU FOUND YOURSELF IN HOT OR COLD WATER LATELY? GET YOUR FREE QUOTE WITH A SMILE Ph 06 358 8442 Email craig@acpltd.co.nz STEPHEN 021 626 354 CRAIG 021 460 732 Very pleased to have worked with the Palmerston North Council Residential & Commercial | Drainage Heating | Spouting | Back ow Protection PROUDLY SUPPORTING PALMERSTON NORTH COUNCIL OUR DOOR IS ALWAYS OPEN Specialising in the supply of quality timber doors, stairs and wardrobes info@qds.co.nz | 06 354 7483 | www.qds.nz QDS | 42 Bennett Street, Palmerston North WARDROBES STAIRS DOORS C ompleted in April this year, Phase Two of Palmerston North’s 18.5 hectare Central Energy Trust Arena Masterplan includes a new purpose built speedway pit, entrance plaza and ablution block. Nestled right in the heart of the city, the multisport facility incorporates a diverse range of indoor and outdoor activities in a series of stadiums, buildings and sports fields that are operated by Palmy Venues, a division within the Palmerston North City Council, the facili- ty’s owner. Just 700 metres from the Arena’s main entrance, the entrance plaza creates a linkage to Palmerston North’s well-patronised city square. The welcoming and attractive plaza en- trance now leads spectators up to the new pedestrian bridge, linking to the Arena 1 stadium. Venues Manager John Lynch says the idea was to significantly improve the aesthetic appearance of the venue. “Black aluminium fencing surrounding the boundary has been very nicely detailed with a lot of plantings. Storyboards within the en- trance tell visitors how the area has been used over the last 130 years so that people appreci- ate it extends beyond rugby and speedway. “For example during the 1931 Napier earth- quake it became home to about 3000 evac- uees and it was home to the Māori Battalion before they headed overseas in the Second World War.” Developed along the southern side of the Arena complex behind the new South Stand the new speedway pit facilities include a mix- ture of green space, concrete and asphalt, as well as services vital to successful speedway operation such as water, air, power and light- ing. The facilities provide 120 pit spaces where speedway drivers park up their vehicles. “Speedway is one of the key stakeholders and clients of Central Energy Trust Arena,” says John. “Speedway conducts about twenty race meetings per annum over the summer months and in February of each year we host the New Zealand Superstock Teams Champs, the single biggest speedway event on the national calendar.” Held over two nights and attracting 15,000 excited spectators each night, 81% from outside of the Manawatu district, the event is worth $5 million to the local economy. Over the entire season speedway brings over $40 million to the local economy. “So it was about looking after a key stakek- holder in the Arena complex, providing them with facilities that were fit for purpose, and protecting that business looking forward. It was also about getting the design right to meet the needs of multi-sport users and the community. The pits won’t just be used for speedway. We will activate them for things like farmers markets and driver education.” The new ablutions block forms the founda- tion for the new south stand. Construction of the three Phase Two com- ponents commenced May last year, on the very first day that New Zealand came out of level four lockdown. “It was really good from a local economic perspective that a major construction project was starting. Humphries Construction was engaged as the main contractor for the entire project. Despite the trying times with Covid, we managed to meet budget and the timeline. The project was just over $17.1 million, fund- ed mainly from the rates purse with just over a million dollars from Central Energy Trust.”