Alexandra crickets fans are "gutted" no top-level cricket matches will be played at Molyneux Park this summer.
New Zealand Cricket said the ground was not up to standard, so the Otago matches scheduled for Alexandra on December 8 and 28 have been moved to other venues. It will be the first time in 30 years there have been no top-level games at Molyneux Park.
Brian Bruce, of Alexandra, who has been a regular spectator at Otago matches at the park for more than 20 years, said he was disappointed and annoyed by the decision.
Bruce and a group of about 20 friends and relations, nicknamed "Brucie's Crew", have been on a mission to keep top-level cricket at the park.
"We've fought for a long time to keep it there and when it dropped back to one one-day match a year, we were worried - and then it went back up to two, so we thought it was going to be OK."
Attending the one-dayers in Alexandra was a long-held tradition, not just for his bunch of supporters but for many other groups of holidaymakers and locals, he said.
Although Otago Cricket Association chief executive Ross Dykes was optimistic the Volts would return to Molyneux Park, Bruce was less hopeful.
"I doubt they'll come back. Originally, we were told the changing rooms and accommodation here weren't suitable, and now they say the ground isn't up to scratch. I think it's just that Queenstown has more nightlife to offer."
He was unlikely to travel to Queenstown or Dunedin to watch the games. "They won't have the same atmosphere as at Molyneux."
Alexandra Cricket Club captain Peter Breen said Alexandra cricket fans would be "absolutely gutted".
"They're going to have to find something else to do those days [when the matches in Alexandra were scheduled]," Breen said.
"There's a whole heap of staunch Molyneux Park supporters who go there every year. It's a long-standing tradition."
Born and bred in Alexandra, he was disappointed the town would miss out on its annual influx of cricket fans.
"It's a real shame the Volts matches have been ruled out."
Dykes said earlier this week that the Molyneux Park Trust, New Zealand Cricket, Otago cricket and Otago country cricket were all committed to getting the ground's warrant of fitness restored as soon as possible. Another trial on the ground might be held before the end of summer, he said.
