Football club makes plea for Bayswater upgrade

North Shore United Football Club is pushing for upgrades to the facilities it leases at Bayswater Park.

The club outlined to the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board last week how heavily the park was used, and said it had members volunteering to help upgrade the inadequate and rundown changing-room facilities.

The club wanted to work with Auckland Council community facilities staff to improve what was on offer to the hundreds of players regularly using the park’s two grounds.

“The park is a very high-use facility and is an important community asset that deserves better facilities,” said club board member

Phillip McGivern.

It lacked enough changing space to cope with the number of teams and also had open showers that had to be passed to get to toilets. “If you’re a lady you don’t want to go there.”

McGivern, and club chair Mike Fox, said the club had 43 teams of players aged nine years and up. Usage of Bayswater Park was all day Saturday and on four evenings a week. The club also ran mixed primary-school tournaments there and a summer football league that attracted 78 teams.

“The park is in use as soon as we can get our hands on it,” said McGivern. It is also used for cricket.

Around 500-700 people were there on Saturdays for a football season of 20 games.

The club’s single field at Allen Hill Stadium in Devonport is used primarily for the men’s and women’s first teams and the men’s reserve grade. Fields at Stanley Bay are out of action most of the winter due to being waterlogged.

Board members suggested the club look to tap into grants funding for upgrades, including from Auckland Council’s regional sports fund.

Speaking to the Flagstaff later, McGivern said he would like to think there was some cost-efficient way the club could contribute in a bid to get an upgrade done.