In the Waitaki District Council's 2021-32 long-term plan, which was adopted on Tuesday, the council has confirmed it will contribute up to $9million for the project, and a further $1million will come from the RMA reserve.
With $10million from the council and an anonymous $5million pledge — "the catalyst for getting the ball rolling" — the Waitaki Event Centre Trust now had the task of raising another $5million by the end of the year, trustee Kevin Malcolm said.
The council’s and anonymous donor’s contributions enabled the trust to move forward, he said.
"Especially when you look at what [the council] are going through with local government reforms — it’s a huge commitment in line with that," he said.
Mr Malcolm, along with fellow trustees Adair Craik, Denise McMillan and Deidre Senior, will be targeting "core groups" in Waitaki for funding in the coming months.
They will also look to the wider community for additional support through a marketing campaign. Social media and Givealittle pages will also be set up to build momentum.
Mrs Senior said it was important the community was involved along the way.
The projected cost for the six-court centre at Centennial Park, the preferred location, is $24million. It will include meeting rooms, office spaces, storage space, spectator areas and 80 car parks.
Waitaki sporting groups could "lease" areas to base themselves at the centre, making it a sporting hub, and it would be open for schools and groups to use for various events, such as Clued Up Kids.
The Waitaki Sports Hall of Fame could also be moved from the Waitaki Community Recreation Centre to the new facility.
It also opened the door for Waitaki to host big regional games, such as Southern Steel and Otago Nuggets fixtures, and to host more regional sporting tournaments.
"We’ve got local people who are team members of the Steel, who are coaching staff of the Nuggets. We’re a breeding ground for those teams, so it would only be fair that we get to showcase them to our local players," Mrs Senior said.
Through the council’s long-term plan consultation, 78% of submitters were in favour of the council contributing at least $10million to the project.
The strong support from all generations showed it was a necessity, Mrs McMillan said.
"Waitaki is growing and we’re probably biting our noses off to spite our faces by not having something like that here for different families to come into the town," Mrs McMillan said.
Ms Craik said it was "hugely exciting" to get the go-ahead from the council. It would be Waitaki’s largest recreational development since the Waitaki Aquatic Centre, 22 years ago.
The trust was aiming for the centre to be built and open for the start of the netball season in 2024.
