The Oxford Football Club has grown over the past few years and now wants to expand into Cust Domain, where the riding club is already established.
A community leader hopes a solution can be found for the sporting stand-off, with Waimakariri District Council staff planning meet with the two clubs.
The Cust Domain is a designated sports park, with the Cust Equestrian Group being the main user.
Since 2008, the equestrian group has held a licence to occupy the northern end of the domain, where it has developed a purpose-built equestrian arena, and has access to a paddock to the east of the domain.
The Oxford Football Club established a temporary soccer field at the opposite end of the domain last season, and now wants to develop two soccer fields to support its growing club.
But equestrian group president Chris Neason said high energy sports like football are ‘‘not compatible’’ with horse riding.
‘‘Horse riding is a fairly risky sport anyway, but having a high energy sport nearby can cause the horses to become more anxious.’’
Oxford Football Club president Keith Gilby said the club has experienced rapid growth over the last two years and has outgrown its Oxford Showgrounds base.
This season it will increase from three to five football fields at Oxford Showgrounds and wants to have two fields at the Cust Domain.
He said there would two evening training runs during the week and up to 10 home games a season on Saturday afternoons at the domain.
The club has offered to pay for upgrading the lights and for painting the lines of football fields.
‘‘The two parties have got to come together and work it out,’’ Mr Gerard said.
‘‘They are both important groups in the community so they both have to find a way to make it work.
‘‘The board doesn’t want to be in a position of having to impose a decision on them.’’
Council staff are due to meet with the two clubs and report back to the community board at its March meeting.
‘‘It needs some level of collaboration between the two clubs,’’ the council’s parks and facilities team leader Ken Howat said.
‘‘The feeling we have from the clubs is that it is not realistic for both clubs to use the ground at the same time.’’
The Cust Domain is also used by other horse clubs, for school cross country races, by scouts, for walking dogs, freedom camping and family picnics, he said.
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
