Sandfords Event Centre

Story

In 1994, four Opunake men consisting of Gavin Gopperth, John Kensington, Merv Tamatea and Peter Burnnand, discussed the possibility of developing a new sporting facility in Opunake.

It was realised that the then current sporting facilities in Opunake were reaching, or had past, their used by dates.

Several meetings were held to discuss the options, and it was soon realised that should any construction of a new facility take place, the project would benefit from the assistance that could be provided by local tradesmen.
As a result, local businessmen Steve Corkill, David Gibson and Conrad Kuriger became involved.
Other members of the public also came onboard, and the Opunake Sports and Recreation Trust was formed in 1993.

As the facility was to be constructed upon a Council Reserve, The South Taranaki District Council insisted a referendum be held in the local ward in order to confirm local support for the proposed facility –the referendum showed that a majority of those that took part in the referendum were in support.

The Trustees and volunteers not only donated their personal time & labour during the construction of the facility, but many products required during the construction were often obtained at less than trade prices. Local business support was exemplary.

As a result of the above, the Sandfords Event Centre in Opunake became open for public use in 2003.
Although the Events Centre had not been completed in its entirety, most of its major facilities were operational, and at that time, the Events Centre was valued at close to 4 million dollars.



The facility presently consists of:
An international stadium catering for indoor basketball and
netball with a 300 person viewing gallery
2 meeting rooms,
1 large conference room
3 squash courts with a three tiered viewing area
A work out gym
8 changing rooms that service the Sports Fields
A sports lounge
A main lounge with restaurant & bar.

Currently, the affiliated clubs and associations that are associated with the centre are:

Opunake Tennis Club
Opunake Squash Rackets Club
Arahi Netball
Opunake High School Old Boys Cricket Club
Opunake Basketball Assn
Opunake Touch Rugby Assn
Coastal Cobras Rugby League Club
Opunake Amateur Athletics Club
Coastal Rugby Football Club
Opunake Golf Darts Club
Puawai Darts Club
Stony River Darts Club
Coastal Schools
Opunake Netball Assn

Function Packages

The Sandfords Event Centre is one of the Surf Highways largest Function Facilities. The Stadium is able to host Basketball, Netball, and Volleyball with the arena being of international standards with flooring, second clock and scoreboard and the ability to seat over 300 guests. The Centre also consists of 3 squash courts, 3 tennis courts Gymnasium and 8 change rooms for field events.

The “SECO” is the Centers’ catering facility. Opening for meals for Sporting codes and private bookings from the public. The “Hub” is a versatile venue seating 150 people or 300 standing along with a dance floor and Big Screen TV.

The Stevenson Sports Lounge with adjacent bar hosts the local Darts Association. It is a comfortable Lounge bar facing the out to the Field making it a great indoor/ outdoor event venue.

The Conference and Meeting rooms make a private and quiet venue for company meetings or training sessions. The conference room has a small kitchenette for ease of self catering.

Any Event of any size can be catered for at the Sandfords Event Centre from private corporate meeting, school sports carnival or intimate wedding.

For all enquiries please call Remmy on 06 761 7534 or email [email protected]. Alternatively check out our web site.


Facility Manager
Lauren Castle

Located:
Tasman st
Opunake
Ph: 06 761 7534
Fax: 06 761 7539
[email protected]