Home : News : Economic impact of Regional Sports Park
12 March 2008
Hastings District Council has released an economic impact report on the Regional Sports Park showing the Park's development stage will generate additional new economic activity in the Hawke's Bay region of $43 million with a total employment impact of 589.
Sean Bevin, from local economic consulting company, Economic Solutions Ltd, has undertaken an analysis of the potential Hawke’s Bay region economic impacts of the construction and annual operation of the Regional Sports Park, and a projected five-year programme of major sports events to be held at the facility.
In the report, Bevin said the economic impact work reinforces that the Regional Sports Park in economic terms will contribute significantly to the overall economy of Hawke’s Bay.
Bevin sums up the reports findings by saying, “the Value-Added gain of $24 million best indicates the true impact of the events (held at the Regional Sports Park) on economic activity in Hawke's Bay”.
The development of the Regional Sports Park comes out of the Hawke’s Bay Regional Sport & Active Recreation Strategy published by Sports Hawke’s Bay in 2004 in association with SPARC and twenty-five key stakeholders including all four Territorial Local Authorities, Regional Council, Hawke’s Bay District Health Board, Iwi, School principals association, regional sport and recreation organisations, as well as rural community groups.
A key goal of the strategy was “to increase the value and contribution of the sport and active recreation sector to the economic and social development of the Hawke’s Bay region.”
Sean Bevin was engaged to carry out detailed work providing an economic impact analysis of a five-year programme of major regional, national and international sports events projected to be attracted to the regional sports park.
The events covered range from cycling, athletics and gymsports to tennis and soccer, and comprise 30 individual events of varying duration and frequency of occurrence within the five-year period. The full report is attached (PDF 255kB).
For more information
Jessica Soutar Barron
Communications Officer
(06) 878 0510 ex. 8629
027 275 5205
