Football clubs won’t know till after October which venues will be used as training camps for the 16 teams set to play in the New Zealand-hosted groups in next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Friday’s announcement that the Government would invest nearly $19 million into enhancing facilities identified match stadia, some venue-specific training sites and 21 venues that have been short-listed as “team base camps”.
These ‘”team base camps” have all met required criteria during an evaluation process.
After the October 22 World Cup tournament draw at Auckland’s Aotea Centre, the 29 national teams that have qualified by then will be able to visit the team base camps to plan where they want their squads to be based.
Three more nations will qualify in February after a 10-nation play-off tournament in Auckland and Hamilton.
Venue-specific training sites will be used primarily for match preparation activities the day before match days.
The announcement by Sports Minister Grant Robertson said up to $19 million would be invested by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and Sport New Zealand to provide upgrades of pitch, lighting and facility enhancements.
READ MORE: Government reveals $19 million plan to upgrade facilities ahead of Women’s World Cup >>>>
Which grounds will benefit — and how much will be spent on them?
Since the announcement, the football community has been abuzz with questions about how the money will be spent — and where.
The detail is included in Robertson’s full speech notes available at his Parliamentary website here >>>>>
Here are the extracts that explain which venues are set for upgrades, and how much is planned to be spent:
Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau
Match stadium
Investment by MBIE: $2.4 million
- Eden Park
MBIE will invest $4 million and Sport New Zealand will invest $2.2 million (through NZ Football) into the following Auckland training sites and team base camps:
Venue-specific training sites
- North Harbour Stadium
- Waitākere Stadium
Team base camps
- McLennan Park, Papakura
- Bay City Park, East Coast Bays
- Fred Taylor Park, Whenuapai
- Māngere Centre Park, Mängere
- Michaels Ave Reserve, Ellerslie
- Shepherds Park, Birkenhead
- Olympic Park, New Lynn
- Seddon Fields, Western Springs
Hamilton/Kirikiriroā
Match stadium
Investment by MBIE: $220,000
- FMG Waikato Stadium, Hamilton
MBIE will invest $600,000 and Sport New Zealand will invest $330,000 (through NZ Football) into the following Hamilton training sites and team base camps:
Venue-specific training sites
- Porritt Park No. 2, Hamilton
- Gower Park No. 1, Hamilton
Team base camp
- Korikori Park, Hamilton
Wellington/Te Whanganui-a-Tara
Match stadium
Investment by MBIE: $3.5 million
Investment by Sport New Zealand (through NZ Football): $600,000
- Sky Stadium, Wellington
MBIE will invest $1.5 million and Sport New Zealand will invest $405,000 (through NZ Football) into the following Wellington regional training sites and team base camps:
Venue-specific training sites
- Martin Luckie Park, Berhampore
- Newtown Park No. 1, Newtown
Team base camp
- Porirua Park, Porirua
Dunedin/Ōtepoti
Match stadium
Investment by Sport New Zealand (through NZ Football): $135,000
- Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
MBIE will invest $1 million and Sport New Zealand will invest $500,000 (through NZ Football) into the following Dunedin regional training sites and team base camps:
Venue-specific training sites
- Caledonian Ground, Dunedin
- University No. 6, Dunedin
Team base camp
- Tahuna Park, Dunedin
Team base camp only regions
The following cities will not host games or venue-specific training sites, but may be used for team base camps:
Christchurch/Ōtautahi
The following will share MBIE investment of $230,000 and $95,000 from Sport New Zealand.
- Avonhead Park
- Christchurch Stadium
- Ngā Puna Wai Sports Hub
Napier/Ahuriri
Sport New Zealand will spend $300,000 helping to upgrade:
- McLean Park, Napier
Tauranga
MBIE will spend up to $115,000 improving:
- The Bay Oval, Tauranga
Palmerston North/Te Papaioea
MBIE has budgeted to spend $325,000 on:
- Massey Sports Institute, Palmerston North
In case you missed it
Here’s 1News report on how the money will help clubs such as Mangere United:
Regional spends
Auckland: $8.6 million
Hamilton: $1.2 million
Wellington: $6 million
Dunedin: $1.6 million
Team base camp only regions: $1.28 million
An amount of $215,000 has also been budgeted by Sport New Zealand for centralised project management and quality assurance costs.
The total spend will be $18.7 million, of which $13.7 will come from MVIE and $5 million from Sport New Zealand.
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