The Christchurch earthquakes have caused a significant change in the current position of grounds and facilities in Christchurch. The city no longer has a first class cricket venue (QE2 was the venue) and currently there is no international cricket venue in Christchurch with AMI Stadium badly affected and unlikely to be repaired. With no top level cricket in Christchurch and Canterbury and particularly with no ICC Cricket World Cup fixtures the game will be severely compromised in Canterbury. There will be no attraction to recruit or retain top players and no aspirational vehicle for our young cricketers. Christchurch will be positioned as a backwater of cricket in NZ impacting on all levels of our sport. The enhancement of Hagley Oval will result in greater playing and viewing use of this area for cricket and the community.
The venue will be able to be used for the following purposes:
International cricket
Domestic cricket
Club, youth, junior, mens and womens cricket
Junior winter sport i.e. rugby or football
Outdoor concerts e.g. classical sparks
Other sporting events that will promote Christchurch and provide commercial benefit to the city
Permanent fencing will NOT be erected. Temporary fencing for selected events will be provided in the same way as events in North Hagley such as the Ellerslie Flower Show and Buskers Festivals. Temporary fencing has been used on numerous occasions at Hagley Oval over a large number of years with the most recent being the staging of a very successful South Africa vs. Canterbury T20 match on February 15, 2012.
A rolling grass bank will encircle the ground for spectators to enjoy a picnic while they watch the cricket and lights will be installed to enable the city to host day night cricket fixtures and other twilight events such as an evening concert.
The development of Hagley Oval is a rare and exciting opportunity that will have a major impact on the prosperity of Christchurch and will assist in making Christchurch an even greater place to live. We will not have another opportunity to create a legacy venue that will look after our current and future generations of cricketers. If we can develop Hagley Oval in keeping with this vision we will play a meaningful role in the 2015 cricket world cup, have a venue that will attract top international teams to our city and have a project that will in a short period of time play a major role in the revitalisation of our city.
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