Work to begin on upgrading Queenstown’s John Davies Oval

Date:

Feb 9, 2017

Work will begin shortly on a field reconstruction on the John Davies Oval at the Queenstown Events Centre, in order to bring it up to the current international playing standard for next summer.

Queenstown Lakes District Council have awarded the contract for the project to locally based company TIC Projects. They will be setting up in the coming days, with work beginning next week.

Upgrading the turf will bring it in line with international cricket standards, and will see it available to be used for a wider range of high level sports fixtures. It will have 90mm of sand over an extensive drainage system developed specifically for sports fields.

Parks and Reserves Planning Manager, Stephen Quin, says the upgrade will be a double win for the community. “A refurbishment with better drainage will not only make the oval more attractive to high level sports teams, but it will also allow for increased use by the local community. Currently the poor surface limits the amount it can be used due to the damage caused to the turf.”

“The playing surface has essentially come to the end of its lifespan and hasn’t been upgraded since the QEC was built in 1997. The current soil profile doesn’t allow for good drainage, on top of this old dead grass has built up a layer of ‘thatching’ between the spoil and the grass, which further slows the draining process. In its current state, water sits on top of the surface making it slippery and muddy, and much more prone to damage.”

The upgrade is expected to cost $640,000 and TIC hopes to have it completed by April this year. The John Davies Oval will be back in use by Summer later this year.

QLDC asks that members of the public respect any signage and take care while works are underway.

ENDS

Photo – John Davies Oval with herbicide application underway