The funding was approved unanimously by the City Strategy Committee today (Thursday).
Six organisations (Johnsonville Cricket Club, Johnsonville Rugby Club, North Wellington Senior Football Club, North Wellington Junior Football Club, Olympic Harrier and Athletic Club and the Wellington Deaf Society) have joined forces and will raise at least $2 million for the building, which is estimated to cost $4.2 million.
The Johnsonville Cricket Club building, in poor condition, will be demolished and the new building connected to the existing Olympic Harrier and Athletic Club building. The City Council will design the new building and project-manage the construction.
“This has been 11 years in the genesis and the closest we have been to doing it,” says Wellington Mayor Justin Lester.
“This will be a massive improvement for the six clubs involved and it is wonderful to see them come together with a common purpose.
“We have a ‘sportsville’ model. We want to see a consolidation of buildings, not an ad hoc approach and this is a great example of how it should be done.
“I look forward to making progress on the whole project.”
Councillors paid tribute to the Alex Moore Park Sport and Community Incorporated Board members, Council staff and facilitator Karen Wallace for their work in getting the six clubs on board.
Construction is expected to start in 2020/21 and take six to nine months.
“There is a national trend towards shared facilities for sport and recreation clubs, known as ‘sportsville’ or sporting hubs,” says Councillor Fleur Fitzsimons, who holds the community facilities and recreation portfolio.
“This is mainly due to the value clubs see in working together.
“Well done to the sports clubs and the Wellington Deaf Society for seeing the value of being involved in this. This is the sort of project where the Council can help and assist more people in the community to play sport and look after their members.”