The club is grateful to have the Christchurch City Council for the club renovation of the nets including re-grading the runups and replacing the artificial grass surface in the nets. There is also readylawn turf placed at the end of the runups, and we need to give this as much time as possible to recover. You can read more about the background and history of this below.

The club has also purchased a 10mm thick rubber shock pad that is under the artificial grass the bowlers crease area.

There are to be NO SPIKES in the nets and runups – If you see anyone using spikes, please advise them to get off immediate and let their coach / captain know. It’s not a club member be confident to tell them to stop training here if they don’t respect the facilities.

Timeframe:

Nets are closed for the next two weeks ending Sunday 28/9/2025.

Partial Re-open on Monday the 29/9/2025  throwdowns & spin only (short run ups on the artificial grass run ups) and for club members in supervised sessions. The ready lawn run up area still roped off and we don’t want anyone standing on this area as will take 4 weeks before you should stand on it.

Monday 13/10/2025 after an assessment the nets could be fully operational.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Background

The run-ups have been an issue for many years. About 6 years we pushed our case through CMCA to the council as the club had been trying to come up with a solution for this area, but we needed an approved option. We had also considered closing the nets until a solution was sought, however that would have had been detrimental on junior cricket. Two years ago, temporary repairs to runup were completed by CCC.

There first issue is that the CCC don’t want any further concrete areas over greenspace if possible. The second issue is that the runups cross over the end goal line of a football field. Discussion with Mainland Football and FCTwenty2011 followed, and the pitch size has been reduced and slightly moved. Clearly you cannot have artificial grass areas entering the football field. (See Photos below)

In April 2025 we were aware that the council had an approved solution and issued a document for pricing, a contractor was approved (Readylawn) and we had to wait for the both the weather and the football season to conclude before work could be completed.

Q&A

Why do we have to wait so long to use the nets?

It takes time for the grass around the nets to get established to allow people to walk on it. We have waited 6 years for this; we can wait another few weeks.

What the base of the runups?

The run up area has been dug out and re-based with AP40 then crusher dust. There is 10mm shock pad that extends 3m at the bowlers end that is at the same level as the finished surface.  The club will be assessing how this base stands wears over time.

Who owns the nets?

The nets were built in 2002 in a project lead by Brian Hastings and John Thompson. It was funded by the Lion Foundation, CCC, and NZ Cricket Foundation. Two lanes were for the sole use of the club, and one late being for the public. (that’s why there are two gates). The gates used to be padlocked but shortly after the committee at the time decided to make them accessible to the public for the betterment of the game.

Can I book the nets?

During the cricket season the club trainings are published on our website, and the club has priority over these times. Outside of these times there is no booking system in place, and as it in a park it’s a shared use facility. If you have an organised training time or a school holiday programme or representative contact the club and we can add it to the clubs schedule.

Is there a cost for using the nets?

There is no cost for using the nets, and the club often bears the cost of the upkeep of these which relies on sponsorship and funding. This year we are creating a donation webpage to accept donations for the ongoing upkeep.