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Tauranga gate Pa Racecourse Could Go.

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Racecourse eyed for housing: Racing Tauranga in talks with Government over 'prime land'

17 Jul, 2019 6:00am

By: Samantha Motion

3 minutes to read
Tauranga Racecourse in Greerton is being eyed for housing. Photo / File

Tauranga Racecourse in Greerton is being eyed for housing. Photo / File

Racing Tauranga is in talks with the Government about relocating the city's racecourse to free up land for housing.

Racing Tauranga board chairman Frank Vosper said Racing Minister Winston Peters approached the club about a year ago with an offer of a "state of the art" new racecourse elsewhere in the region.

That would free up the Tauranga Racecourse, which is on 34 hectares of Crown-owned land in Greerton, for housing development.

Vosper said there were ongoing discussions about the proposal and the club was keeping its options open while continuing as usual.

Vosper said the group had another 20 years left on its lease and he did not think the relocation proposal would come to anything any time soon.

Some board members were "totally against" the idea.

Tauranga-based New Zealand First list MP Clayton Mitchell said there was no formal offer on the table but the idea of relocating the course had been presented to Racing Tauranga as an option to consider given they were on a fixed-term lease.

 
Tauranga-based New Zealand First list MP Clayton Mitchell. Photo / FileTauranga-based New Zealand First list MP Clayton Mitchell. Photo / File

"From a practical point of view, this is something they should look at with eyes wide open."

The racecourse used to be on the outskirts of town but as Tauranga had expanded it was now considered inside the city, Mitchell said.

"That is prime land for building houses on and there is a shortage of land."

No particular location had been identified for a potential new course, but he said it would make more sense to look east towards Pāpāmoa, Te Puke and Maketū where the land was flatter than west towards the Kaimai range.

He said the ball was in Racing Tauranga's court as to whether it wanted to pursue relocation and the Government was not pushing the idea. Discussions about funding any new course would come further down the track.

Winston Peters was in Washington yesterday and was unable to comment in time for deadline.

The discussion comes amid a major shake-up of New Zealand's thoroughbred racing industry, with an independent report released last year recommending 20 clubs be dissolved.

Racing Tauranga was not one of them.

The Crown land occupied by the racecourse is vested in Tauranga City Council.

Christine Jones, the council's general manager of strategy and growth, said the council was involved in the discussions about relocating the course.

There was speculation in June last year the Government was eyeing the racecourse for housing as part of Kiwibuild.

 
Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford. Photo / FileUrban Development Minister Phil Twyford. Photo / File

At the time, Racing Tauranga said there had been no formal approach from the Government and then-Housing and Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford would not comment on the speculation.

Yesterday Twyford, who has since lost the housing portfolio but retained urban development, said he had not been involved in discussions with Tauranga Racing.

"Our Government remains committed to pursuing large scale urban development opportunities in the Bay of Plenty and continues to work with local councils and developers on this."

A spokeswoman for the Racing Industry Transition Agency referred a request for comment to New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing.

The Bay of Plenty Times contacted that organisation but did not receive a response before deadline.

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Leo if Tauranga Racing have to vacate their Gate Pa Course they will not receive a cent. From 1878 to 1989 it was owned by the Crown and administered by the Domain Board. It is now administered by the Tauranga City Council. Tauranga Racing occupy 34 hectares and Tauranga Golf 44.8 hectares with 4.2 hectares run by the Council. The annual rent payable by Tauranga Racing and Tauranga Golf is $39,000. If the Club eventually move to the proposed Te Puke- Maketu area it could be disastrous. The land there is low lying and prone to flooding. Taking racing away from a heavily populated area doesn’t make much sense either.

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2 hours ago, gubellini said:

Leo if Tauranga Racing have to vacate their Gate Pa Course they will not receive a cent. From 1878 to 1989 it was owned by the Crown and administered by the Domain Board. It is now administered by the Tauranga City Council. Tauranga Racing occupy 34 hectares and Tauranga Golf 44.8 hectares with 4.2 hectares run by the Council. The annual rent payable by Tauranga Racing and Tauranga Golf is $39,000. If the Club eventually move to the proposed Te Puke- Maketu area it could be disastrous. The land there is low lying and prone to flooding. Taking racing away from a heavily populated area doesn’t make much sense either.

39K RENT would seem to be a sweet deal based on the value of the land.

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You people still seem to lose track of how racing is promoted - live, not on a TV set where the present generation may become interested in the sport by surfing - yeah right,    Less courses = less people becoming aware of the sport = less revenue.      How many of you became interested through a casual exposure to TV?     

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7 hours ago, eljay said:

You people still seem to lose track of how racing is promoted - live, not on a TV set where the present generation may become interested in the sport by surfing - yeah right,    Less courses = less people becoming aware of the sport = less revenue.      How many of you became interested through a casual exposure to TV?     

Yes I agree , but the brilliant solution is to take it away from the people and centralise it. 

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On 7/17/2019 at 2:51 PM, gubellini said:

Leo if Tauranga Racing have to vacate their Gate Pa Course they will not receive a cent. From 1878 to 1989 it was owned by the Crown and administered by the Domain Board. It is now administered by the Tauranga City Council. Tauranga Racing occupy 34 hectares and Tauranga Golf 44.8 hectares with 4.2 hectares run by the Council. The annual rent payable by Tauranga Racing and Tauranga Golf is $39,000. If the Club eventually move to the proposed Te Puke- Maketu area it could be disastrous. The land there is low lying and prone to flooding. Taking racing away from a heavily populated area doesn’t make much sense either.

Doesn't seem to be stopping development Gubes according to this. Population increasing there, might be a good move.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503343&objectid=10974268

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This proposed Murray Bridge facility looks along similar lines to Pakenham in Victoria - they seem to have a model around having a state of the art track and training facility in the country some distance away from City population. 

Is it best to have these facilities in a City (to make attendance easier) or away nearer where the animals are trained? Seems a fundamental decision for the future.

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39 minutes ago, Peter R S said:

This proposed Murray Bridge facility looks along similar lines to Pakenham in Victoria - they seem to have a model around having a state of the art track and training facility in the country some distance away from City population. 

Is it best to have these facilities in a City (to make attendance easier) or away nearer where the animals are trained? Seems a fundamental decision for the future.

Sensible decision to me, the future of racing is over the internet and TV not via attendance outside of the popular carnivals.

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Huey - wrong, wrong!     Who will stay home (even if they remotely interested in racing) on a bright sunny summers day in their lounge watching TV with 1/2 to 3/4 hour intervals between races.    In 20 years time nobody will give a rat's arse about racing and if they do like an occasional flutter they will have Sports Betting, Lotto, Pokies etc. etc. to satisfy their craving.       I feel sorry for the horses - they will soon become an "endangered species".     

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1 hour ago, eljay said:

Huey - wrong, wrong!     Who will stay home (even if they remotely interested in racing) on a bright sunny summers day in their lounge watching TV with 1/2 to 3/4 hour intervals between races.    In 20 years time nobody will give a rat's arse about racing and if they do like an occasional flutter they will have Sports Betting, Lotto, Pokies etc. etc. to satisfy their craving.       I feel sorry for the horses - they will soon become an "endangered species".     

Hello Eljay.

Pray, when do they have these such gaps you speak about on TV. They are usually leaving one meeting to get to the next meeting shortly after each race is finished. It's called wall-to-wall racing. 

 

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2 hours ago, eljay said:

Huey - wrong, wrong!     Who will stay home (even if they remotely interested in racing) on a bright sunny summers day in their lounge watching TV with 1/2 to 3/4 hour intervals between races.    In 20 years time nobody will give a rat's arse about racing and if they do like an occasional flutter they will have Sports Betting, Lotto, Pokies etc. etc. to satisfy their craving.       I feel sorry for the horses - they will soon become an "endangered species".     

Plenty do already, I know alot that stay home and watch the races on the telly rain or shine, you obviously partake in far more active circles than I do Eljay.

Not to mention Mobile devices allow for those on the go.

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4 hours ago, Peter R S said:

Is it best to have these facilities in a City (to make attendance easier) or away nearer where the animals are trained? Seems a fundamental decision for the future.

Good question. As far as the main cities are concerned more and more people are living in boxes. The quarter acre section is a distant memory. Therefore getting away into the country for relaxation is appealing. Some for example Sydney are realizing as the nearby meetings become more popular.

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6 hours ago, Huey said:

Plenty do already, I know alot that stay home and watch the races on the telly rain or shine, you obviously partake in far more active circles than I do Eljay.

Not to mention Mobile devices allow for those on the go.

Agree with Huey, I don’t even answer the door on a Saturday. Anyone mad enough to come to our house on a Saturday afternoon has to be prepared to endure a truckload of swear words.

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