Wellington Phoenix players train at the Ricoh Sports Centre at Fraser Park. Photo: Supplied
Hutt City Council has handed over management of its biggest sporting facility to the Wellington Phoenix football club.
Since it opened in 2019, the $12.5m Ricoh Sports Centre on Fraser Park has been run by a collective of local sport clubs - Fraser Park Sportsville - and is home to six grassroots clubs and the Phoenix Academy.
But mayor Campbell Barry said that was not financially sustainable for the collective or the council.
"Everyone had the best of intentions, but the model was fundamentally flawed. It wasn't able to be financially sustainable. There was a call on ratepayers to put more cash into it each year that it was operating. That was no-one's fault, it was just the way it was set up."
Costs were continuing to escalate, in the region of "hundreds of thousands" of dollars, until Fraser Park Sportsville advised the council in July that it would have to give up the lease.
Under the new arrangement, Phoenix will manage the Sports Centre and artificial turf, while the council will continue to look after the other playing fields spread across the 27-hectare Fraser Park, the region's largest sporting ground.
Barry said the facility would still be available for community hire and to meet "the core needs" of its founding member clubs: Avalon Rugby Club, Hutt Valley Dodgers Softball Club, Lower Hutt City Football Club, Taitā District Cricket Club, Hutt City Squash and Hutt Valley Softball Association.
"There will have to be some give and take from what founding member clubs originally expected under the old model and there will be a bit of change here and there, but they will continue to have their home there as well, and they will continue to be able to utilise it."
Whether rates would go up was "a conversation for Phoenix and those clubs", but community organisations would not be charged the same as commercial operators, he said.
As well as Phoenix's academy teams playing their home matches at Fraser Park, it was envisaged the venue would become "a destination for fans" with a bar, café, memorabilia, merchandise and interactive experiences.
Phoenix general manager David Dome said the club planned to make Ricoh Sports Centre a thriving events hub, catering to corporate functions, weddings and parties, along with sports events in the Hutt Valley.
"Running a football club is a lot different to running a community facility like this so I'm sure there will be some teething issues," he said.
"But with the support of Hutt City Council and the Founding Member Clubs I'm sure we can make it a real success as a hub for sports and events in Lower Hutt."
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