Sports Park Hawke's Bay

SPARC today announced that Hawke’s Bay has been unsuccessful in its bid to be the national centre of excellence for cycling. Auckland, Hamilton and Palmerston North are the shortlisted tenderers.

“I am shocked by the decision” says Sports Park Trust Chair Lawrence Yule.

“There are so many cycling initiatives taking place in Hawke’s Bay and the region is endorsed by champions. The decision not to shortlist us is frankly hard to fathom.”

The Hawke’s Bay bid was for a $21m velodrome. It is understood to have been the lowest cost of all the main bids.

“When interest from other regions became apparent, Bike NZ upped the ante and their requirement was for a facility with Olympic Games or elite world champs capability. With no guarantee of ever getting such events we couldn’t justify the extra expense but retained the flexibility to do this in future, should we host such an event. This may have counted against us but it was the right decision. To provide everything Bike NZ wanted would have added an extra $5milion to what was already a $10.5m ratepayer contribution. This is not something we could recommend to the community and even if we had I doubt they would have supported it,” says Mr Yule.

Hawke’s Bay was the preferred location of Commonwealth Games gold medalist Ali Shanks. “Hawke’s Bay stands out because it’s got a great climate and fantastic outdoor training options. Basically cyclists like coming here,” she says.

Mr Yule said SPARC had not provided any rationale to its decision although he expected information would be provided at the conclusion of the process.

“Some of those on the bid team have been involved in this process for years and I am gutted for them. Hawke’s Bay was the first region to seriously plan for a North Island velodrome and was strongly endorsed in its endeavours by Bike NZ. The region was also instrumental in bringing central government funding into the mix,” he says.

For more information contact: Lawrence Yule Ph: 0272 496206