A plan, spearheaded by Alex Moore Park Sport & Community Inc., to build an NZ$7M ($4.8M) sports hub "hit the rocks" in September when the site was found to be contaminated with elevated levels of heavy metals and glass, as well as components of petroleum and natural gas. The "bombshell" comes as Wellington City Council's relationship with AMPSCI "deteriorates," and two sports clubs have withdrawn support for the community-led project (STUFF, 5/1).
National Rugby League South Sydney Rabbitohs' A$26.7M ($19.9M) vision for Heffron Park was confirmed after Randwick City Council and the NSW government approved the project last week. Work is expected to start "in coming months." Along with A$10M ($7.4M) of federal funding, a further A$3M ($2.2M) comes from the local council, with A$4M ($3M) from the club. The “missing piece in the jigsaw”-- the remaining A$8.7M ($6.5M) -- comes from the state government’s controversial A$50M ($37.3M) centre of excellence fund for NRL clubs, which was announced last year as part of its "even more controversial" A$2.5B ($1.8B) stadium plan to overhaul Sydney’s out-of-date facilities (THE AGE, 5/8).
