Construction of the Eastern Busway has caused major disruptions to communities along its route, and it’s also provided a positive spin-off for football and recreation enthusiasts.
Riverhills Park on Tī Rākau Drive and Gossamer Drive in Pakūranga-East Tāmaki has been transformed over the past year with the introduction of an all-weather pitch that’s allowing football to flourish further in east Auckland.
The Auckland Council has confirmed to the Eastern Times the project cost $3.05 million.
The Times met with Fencibles United Football Club chairman Aaron Carson at the ground to ask what difference the artificial turf has made to its operation.
Riverhills Park is a council-owned green-space reserve with areas used by the local community for exercise and recreation alongside Fencibles United’s football activities.
The park was formerly under the public ownership of Manukau City Council and football has been played there for many decades, with Fencibles United holding a long-term lease.
As the Eastern Busway Alliance, Auckland Transport and council started planning the section of the multimillion-dollar busway project that was going to be built along the Tī Rākau Drive periphery of Riverhills Park, Carson says they “came to us very early on saying ‘we’ve got a challenge, how do we work together?’”
The new pitch runs in a different direction to how it did previously – east to west, instead of north to south – because the busway project required extra land of the park.
“We lost about 20-30 metres at the Tī Rākau Drive end,” Carson says.
“It used to be just grass, there were no lights, and the main pitch ran 90 degrees the other way.
“Eastern Busway were fantastic about it. What was important about it wasn’t just the number one field.
“The real benefit is the lights. That allows us to train. The ability to train at night is the key for any club.”
Football’s popularity in New Zealand continues to grow each year and Fencibles, like many clubs, is experiencing growth in participation numbers.
“We grow about 15 to 17 per cent a year,” Carson says. “During the winter, we’re up around 1900 members. In summer we’re running about 1600 members.
“So, we’re an all-year-round operation. It’s also about good people, good volunteers.”
The club is in the fortunate position of having two homes grounds – Riverhills Park and William Green Domain at Highland Park – as its playing membership numbers determines that.
It also has a long lease for William Green Domain that also has all-weather artificial turf but until Riverhills Park got the same, capacity was an issue at the Highland Park ground.
“We were squeezed in at William Green Domain like sardines. We were overflowing. We were hiring Macleans College’s all-weather turf,” Carson explains, of the club’s issue of getting east Aucklanders playing football for it.
“This [Riverhills Park development] has allowed us about 25 more hours of training a week. And we’ll put eight teams out here at once [to train],” Carson explains further about the club’s efficient use of it.
“We’ve obviously got this part. The council has built a whole lot of paths that go right around.
“You come down here any time of the day now and you’ll see people running, walking, exercising, there’s heaps more dogs, so the public is getting a lot more use out of it.”
Carson says the ongoing Eastern Busway construction works on the boundary of Riverhills Park has been a success to date.
“They’ve done a really good job of not affecting us. Hats off to them.
“We’re very happy, and we have invested money as well. It’s a council asset but we didn’t get enough lights so we raised $100,000 and doubled the power of the lights, so we could play night games and train.
“That was our investment back into the community.
“We’ve put on a new roof [on the clubrooms], glass balustrades, new deck roof, so it’s probably a $250,000 investment for us.
“But at the end of the day we’ve got a fantastic facility and we’re absolutely thrilled,” Carson says.
Scott Malcolm, the council’s regional sports facilities manager, says: “The major upgrade to Riverhills Park was completed in 2024, including new lighting and a new artificial turf which allows the sports fields to be used in all weather.
“The old grass field could be used for a maximum of 12 hours per week. Now the new artificial turf can be used for approximately 35 to 40 hours per week.
“Since the upgrade, no football games scheduled for the artificial turf have been cancelled.
“We estimate the sports fields are used by approximately 2000 people each week, a significant increase since the upgrade,” Malcolm says.
