Vandals driving a 4WD vehicle and performing "donuts" ripped up the grass on Wednesday. Weston resident Morris Gray said locals had been dismayed by the vandalism, which they feared could lead to the domain being locked up at night. "It's a real crime - it was just total destruction."
Waitaki District Council recreation manager Erik Van der Spek said workmen were already getting to grips with re-laying the damaged grass, but added that the costs of repairs had been estimated to be between $1300 and $1500.
Work on repairing the grass started on Thursday, he said.
"As to how soon they [sports groups] will be able to play, that depends on how well they [council staff] go about fixing it and what the weather conditions are like over the next week or so ... and how fast new grass gets established."
Mr Van der Spek said the repair time was still very much an "unknown".
It could take anything from one week to one month before the grass had recovered from the damage, he said.
Valley Cricket Club groundsman Geoff Maxwell said the club now had a nervous wait to see if the ground would recover for the start of the cricket season, in just two weeks' time.
"We are not happy, to put it mildly", he said.
Police in Oamaru said they were still investigating the incident. Sergeant Wayne Brew said police would welcome any information from the public.
