Kaitāia celebrating opening of new sports hub and town square

Wednesday, June 5, 2024. It promises to be a big day for Kaitāia with two major infrastructure items getting a grand opening, with dignitaries, politicians and the public celebrating the new assets.

The big day will kick off with the opening of the Kaitāia Town Square at 5.30am, then the opening of the $11.5 million Te Hiku Sports Hub at 7am. Both will have blessing from local hapū with Regional Development Minister Shane Jones and Mayor Moko Tepania as guest speakers. The previous Government put money into both projects.

The cultural waka sculpture – the final piece of the Town Square project – went in last week.

The town square project is the final part of the award-winning Te Hiku o te Ika Revitalisation Open Spaces Project that has helped transform Kaitāia, Awanui and Ahipara with art and place-making developments.

The project is co-funded by Kanoa, the Government’s Regional Economic Development and Investment Unit, and the council, which secured funding through its Long-Term Plan.

Project spokeswoman Andrea Panther said the whole project, which took three and a half years to complete, has helped transform the town, with the Town Square project giving Kaitāia a town centre it could be proud of.

“For our Te Hiku o te Ika Revitalisation project this is the last of 81 projects completing the original contract so there will be a big celebration. We have local hapū working on the naming of the artworks and the blessing.”

“We will be working with a number of groups to provide live entertainment and pop-up stalls as part of the celebration. This is a collaboration of efforts from local groups, local artists, local designers and local tradespeople who have accomplished improvements for our Te Hiku area for all to enjoy.”

Meanwhile, the much-loved mosaic tile wall, which had to be removed for the project to proceed, is being held in storage. The original wall consists of mosaic tiles made by about 500 people in 1997, and the tiles will be incorporated into the project.

The sports centre opening will mark the end of an 10-year battle to get the complex over the line.

Hub project manager Mark Osborne said the idea was mooted about 10 years ago and it had been hoped to have the centre opened last September. However, issues including obtaining some of the pool’s reticulation pumps and systems meant the opening was delayed.

The new facility will be drug and alcohol free, he said.

‘’This project will really have many positive benefits for the health and well being of the local community and will have a massive impact here.’’

He said the sports complex was already proving a big asset as it was recently valued at $20 million: “Not a bad return for an $11.5m investment.”

The hub would be a tremendous asset for the community with a variety of sporting codes set to use it, including rugby, league, football, netball and hockey.

Osborne said it was exciting and a relief to get the project to this stage, despite the challenges it faced, including the soaring costs of materials.

‘’This project will really have many positive benefits for the health and wellbeing of the local community and will have a massive impact here.’’

The then Labour Government also put $3m towards the project.