A formal opening of Wānaka’s new Youth, Sports and Community Facility is expected to take place in late August or early September, the Wānaka Upper Clutha Community Board (QUCCB) was told at its meeting on Friday (May 19).

Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) sport and recreation manager Simon Battrick told the board the facility (in the former Mitre 10 building) would be formally completed by August 21.

“The programme is on track… it’s going as we envisaged within the budget we have,” he said.

Naylor Love began work on the site last month. They have completed the demolition phase; relined the walls in the core of the building as part of the conversion to changing rooms and meeting rooms; and will soon begin the reconstruction phase.

Heating has been raised as a concern, but full insulation has been ruled out.

The council is looking at having a blessing of the gym area in order to get Aspiring Gymsports (AGS) in and using their facilities as soon as possible, Simon said.

Read more: New gymsports space set to become ‘regional hub’

Once the building was completed and main tenants Kahu Youth and AGS homed, council staff were keen to consider other possible uses for the building, Simon added.

Board member John Wellington raised concerns over how the building would be heated.

The Kahu Youth reception area and some other small areas would be heated and “if budget allowed” council would look at heating some of the AGS space, Simon said.

Fully insulating the building would be cost prohibitive, he said, and not having insulation also meant wooden flooring could not be installed in the court area as it could warp in both the cold and the heat.

“It has unfortunately been a scope issue as far as budget is concerned.” 

Simon said court spaces are often “colder inside than outside” and as an activities space he was confident it would not be “too much of an issue”.

The Wānaka Youth, Sports and Community Facility was “a very long title” and council staff were working with Te Kura o Tititea Mt Aspiring College (MAC), Kahu Youth, and AGS to come up with a competition to name the new facility, Simon said.

He said the council had also approached Ngai Tahu for ideas.

WUCCB chair Simon Telfer said the location of the new facility at the “sweet spot” close to the high school and Lismore Park “couldn’t be better” for after-school activities.

“It’s going to be a real asset.”

PHOTOS: Supplied