Editorial: Nelson backs a winner

OPINION: Canterbury 25, Tasman 27, Trafalgar Park 95 out of 100. The region is a winner with the major refurbishment of Trafalgar Park – and the Makos' first-up win over big brother Canterbury provided the perfect opener.

The park has been transformed, in two stages, from a shabby facility with a third-world feel to a significant asset that the region can take pride in.

Nelson City Council community projects manager Andrew Petheram describes it as one of the best provincial sports and outdoor events centres in the country.

Some other centre advocates might take issue with that. Southland's Rugby Park, Hamilton's venue of the same name, FMG stadium in the heart of Palmerston North, Napier's recently upgraded McLean Park, Rotorua's International Stadium (hosting up to 40,000), all have good facilities and a capacity at least as large as Trafalgar Park.

However, the $7.4 makeover ends the embarrassment at the city's gateway that the park, with its tatty corrugated iron fence had become, and should silence those who felt the facilities should have been bulldozed and reestablished at Saxton Field.

The only remaining pink flush should be on the cheeks of Tasman District councillors who, by bailing out of helping to fund the upgrade, again showed the region needs to be represented by a single body.

Perhaps the point could be demonstrated by adding a levy to ticket prices for anyone living outside of the city boundaries. There's a precedent with the charge at Founders for non-residents.

That the new turnstiles and other facilities seemed to handle a sellout crowd of 10,000-plus (from both side of the Nelson city boundary, and beyond) gives reassurance that the region is on track for its involvement in next year's Rugby World Cup tournament.

There is plenty of time to iron out any bugs and complete the last tasks over the next year – which means Nelson is ahead of the play compared with some centres like Auckland and Dunedin.

The successful transformation also is pleasing in that it illustrates the council and its consultants did know what they were doing.

The eco-friendly crushed glass "sand carpet" beneath the playing surface turf is, literally, groundbreaking. Simply getting the turf established in time for Saturday's game was an achievement.

What appears to have been a warm and wet winter has helped, as have lashings of fertiliser and TLC from Nelmac staff.

The replacement black iron fence is superb. It offers fans without the wherewithal for a ticket the opportunity to catch glimpses of whatever is going on inside. More importantly, it "connects" the park to the rest of the city, by allowing passersby to see within and through it to the scenic setting beyond.

It is also worth noting that almost all of the work went to Nelson businesses.With just $1.5m coming from the Government, the $5.9m burden on city ratepayers is significant.

It helps, though, that the project, split across 11 contracts, has helped pay local wages – especially when it has come during a time when the economy has been in recession. Nelson – both city and province – plus of course the Makos, have achieved a significant win.

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