116 | Huia Rugby Football Club COMMUNITY Proud suppliers for HuiaRugbyClub ǣňƁƆǷŖňǷȇǣďƞ ǠǣŖňƆǫƆƼƱϒƯŖŖǷǫ ŇƼƼǷǫκƼƱκǷƁŖκŲǣƼȇƱŏ ŲǣƆǷΘ ΩºŖǫƆŏŖƱǷƆďƞϒΩ ƼƯƯŖǣňƆďƞϒΩϒ ȇǫǷƼƯϒºŖƱƼȣďǷƆƼƱǫ ŇƆŲŇďŏȤƼƞűΘňƼΘƱȴТϒŖƞǫƼƱΙϒ×ďǫƯďƱΘϒ PROUDLY SUPPORTING HUIA RUGBY T T Kelly Deeks Massive effort sees vision coming to life Building is on track for completion in late 2026. After 20 years of planning, fundraising, and determination, Huia Rugby Football Club’s new multi-million-dollar clubhouse is now taking shape at Sports Park Motueka, with the project standing as a testament to the extraordinary commitment of the club’s members, volunteers, local businesses, and wider community. Huia Rugby Football Club vice president, Dion Iorns, says construction is progressing well, with the roof now complete and the building on track for completion in late 2026, ready for next year’s rugby season. “The old clubrooms have been home to countless celebrations, prize-givings and memories, but they were no longer fit for the future of the club,” says Dion. “They sat away from the playing fields, lacked the flexibility we needed, and required constant maintenance just to keep operating,” he says. “Rather than continuing to patch up an ageing facility, we chose to invest in a new home that matches the ambition of our players, members, and wider community. The new clubhouse will put people at the centre of the action and provide a facility that future generations can be proud of.” The new clubhouse overlooks the grounds, and features a viewing deck, commercial kitchen, flexible function spaces, storage, and a gym area for preseason training and yearround use. Existing changing rooms and showers within the sports park grandstand allowed the building to focus on creating versatile spaces for players, supporters, and community groups. Designed as more than a rugby facility, the clubhouse is already attracting interest from other sporting organisations and local groups looking for a venue. Although the project has taken years to realise, Dion says securing funding had been a major challenge as construction costs continued to rise. “We got to the point where we knew we had to back ourselves.” The club sold its former clubrooms to help fund the development, while the new owners have allowed members to continue using the building during construction. Major fundraising has played an important role, kicked off with a very successful nationwide boat raffle raising over $150,000. Supporters have further contributed through donations and in-kind support via discounted materials and labour, including pledge donations for loads of concrete used in the foundations. However, Dion says the project had only been possible because of the many people who had contributed their time, skills, and resources. Local businesses, contractors, suppliers, volunteers, and residents have donated materials, equipment, labour, and expertise throughout the build. Preparing the site alone was a milestone on its own – 2000 cubic metres of fill was donated from the top of Takaka Hill and transported free of charge by several local contracting companies, saving the club substantial costs before foundations were poured. “The amount of support has been enormous. People have given whatever they could, whether it was time, money, materials, or skills, and everyone wants to see the project finished to a high standard,” says Dion. The club plans to recognise those contributions by displaying the names of supporters within the building and giving them a big shout out at the opening celebrations. Favourable weather has helped keep construction on schedule, with exterior cladding and internal work now the next major stages. Dion believes the completed clubhouse will strengthen Sports Park Motueka as a destination for sporting events, while providing a modern home for Huia Rugby and the wider community. “It complements the excellent facilities already here, and we hope it creates opportunities to attract more major events in the future.” Dion has coached rugby at Huia for more than 20 years, and says seeing the vision become reality has been one of the proudest moments of his involvement with the club. “The speeches at our recent prize-giving showed how much this means to everyone, and how proud people are of what has been achieved together. “Our next prize-giving will be in the new clubrooms, and I’ll be sitting on the correct side of the bar.”
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