Latest news with #DunedinNetball
Otago Daily Times
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
DCC lifts the lid on $15m plan for Edgar Centre roof
A new roof could be coming for Dunedin's leaky Edgar Centre complex at a cost of more than $15 million. Replacement of the roof was yesterday added to the Dunedin City Council's planned capital expenditure programme for the next nine years after sports bodies and users of the facility advocated for comprehensive action to be taken. They had warned of injury risks, reputational harm and the city continuing to miss out on hosting tournaments unless problems with leaks and condensation were fixed. Councillors have begun deliberations on the council's 2025-34 long-term plan, and they agreed yesterday they had to find the money for replacing the Edgar Centre roof. They included $360,000 in 2025-26 for detailed design, then $3m for the project in 2026-27 and $12m in 2027-28. The allocation is not quite final, but no councillor voted against it. The call was led by deputy mayor Cherry Lucas, who listed an array of sports that used the centre, as well as noting it was a venue for conferences, weddings, trade shows and Otago Polyfest. It was a mass-use facility but could be "treacherous" at times, she said. Fixing the centre was a priority spend for people who wanted rates rises kept in check, she said. Cr Lucas said there had also been significant public fundraising in the past, as well as financial support from the Edgar family. In 2023, the council decided to continue with a largely reactive approach to leaks. A report at the time said leaks and condensation created risks for facility users because the water could pool on the courts and cause players to slip. Condensation was particularly evident during winter. The complex was described as "dynamic", as the centre was on shifting and sinking ground beside Otago Harbour. The council faced strong calls this year to act. Edgar Centre manager Blair Crawford said in his long-term plan submission the estimated $15m cost was good value for money compared with building a new facility. The Edgar Centre submission was supported by numerous sporting organisations, including Sport Otago, Dunedin Netball, Basketball Otago, Volleyball Otago and Football South. Cr Steve Walker said sports facilities were vital for adults and particularly important for the health of children. Cr Lee Vandervis said the Edgar Centre was the "best-value facility we have". He did not support other parts of the council's proposed $1.9b, nine-year capital expenditure programme. Cr Jim O'Malley said fixing the problems there was part of building and maintaining a modern city. Cr Christine Garey noted the high level of councillor support and said she hoped to also see that when it came to discussing what should be done regarding venues for performing arts.
Otago Daily Times
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
ODT Sports Chat: Basketball and netball get under way
ODT Sports Chat proudly brought to you by the Edgar Centre is back for another season. We were out at the Edgar Centre on Saturday to catch up on netball and basketball. We talk to Leanne from Dunedin Netball to find out what has been happening in the early part of the season. We also try to find out why the roof is in such a bad state and why it's going to cost $15 million to fix. With it in such a parlous state, what is that costing us? We talk to Rebecca Moon from Otago Basketball to find out why there were so many young basketballers in the stadium on Saturday. We also check in with some of the young players from both codes.
Otago Daily Times
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
ODT Sports Chat: Basketball & Netball gets underway
ODT Sports Chat proudly brought to you by the Edgar Centre is back for another season. In this episode Paul Dwyer is having a look at Dunedin Netball with General Manager Lee-Anne Anderson and the Basketball Otago with Rebecca Moon. Both give some commentary about the competition ahead and both voice their concerns over the ongoing issues with the roof at the stadium.
Otago Daily Times
24-04-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Air NZ stands by high fares for the South
Air New Zealand has defended high prices Southerners are railing against, but its chief financial officer could only offer sympathy yesterday. Richard Thomson's comments come amid a wave of discontent being expressed in the South about the national carrier's charging system, which many believe is inequitable. "We're very sympathetic to the fact that consumers who themselves find themselves in a disposable income crunch are also having to pay more for airfares. "But there's equally ... no point in us pricing airfares at less than the cost of delivering the service." At least two Dunedin sports organisations told the Otago Daily Times that costly fares could spell the end of national tournaments for the South. Dunedin Netball general manager Lee-Anne Anderson was particularly disappointed with Air New Zealand's approach. "We were lucky to host the Netball New Zealand open champs in 2023 and under-18 champs last year. "But with a rotation cycle of tournament allocation and the significant increase in cost of travel to and from Dunedin, we are concerned this will reduce, if not eliminate, the chance of hosting national tournaments at the Edgar Centre again." Basketball Otago general manager Jodi Brown shared the netball community's concerns. Players, coaches and supporters were "constantly burdened" by the high cost of travel to attend national sporting tournaments, she said. "National sporting bodies are often reluctant to allocate major tournaments to Dunedin. One of the biggest reasons for this is the high travel costs involved for visiting teams. "As a result, our region is unfairly overlooked and our local athletes are repeatedly the ones paying the price — both literally and figuratively." Mr Thomson said he could not comment on specific examples. "We do have commercial agreements in place with a lot of large sporting teams or sporting teams across the country, and that's knowing the vagaries of whether you're getting into semifinals or finals or where you might be playing ... So we'll be as flexible as we can to accommodate the vagaries of all that. "But the costs of air travel are going up." It had seen as much cost price inflation in the past three years as it would normally see over a decade, Mr Thomson said. "We are motivated to deliver the very best service that we can, at the best price we can that covers the cost of delivering the service in question." Asked whether having more competitors enter the market would force Air New Zealand to drop its prices, Mr Thomson said it was "not as simple as that". "We're a complicated island nation with complicated geography about the size of Japan, but we've got a population of 5.3million people, which is basically the population of Sydney. "We're trying to connect everybody, and we work our damnedest to do this." The international market had also affected the high increase, factors including labour costs, airport levies and passenger levies across the network, he said. "We are very hopeful and optimistic that price increases will start to moderate as we move into a less inflationary environment than we've had. "We'll keep doing our very best to keep people connected at the lowest price we can offer." The issue has caught the attention of the government. Acting Transport Minister James Meager acknowledged as an isolated, sparsely populated island nation, air travel was particularly important. "Ultimately, pricing will come down to how much competition there is in the airline market, and the increased costs airlines are facing as they continue to recover from the damage caused by Covid-19. "What government can do is make sure airlines are competitive, regulations and costs are limited and necessary for safety of passengers and that we support infrastructure investment in airports and airfields to make it easier for airlines to operate."
