Why it’s needed
The current turf, after 15 years and thousands of matches, is at the end of its life. The new turf is not only a necessity for football – we have more than 4200 players and growing – but there is also scope for the new facility to be used by multiple sports and organisations.
We have a number of teams that need to go to Dunedin to play football – the new turf will allow for home games, which will be hugely valuable for the teams, while also attracting people to the deep South.
The new turf
The new turf – Tiger Turf Pure PT - will be faster, softer and more environmentally friendly with no rubber infill. It will be capable of hosting multiple games a day and, with advances in technology, will considerably reduce the risk of injury.
The cost
We have worked with an organisation who will take the old turf, leading to close to $100,000 in savings from the original quote. The whole project is now expected to cost around $970,000.
Between very generous funders – ILT Foundation, Invercargill Licensing Trust, Community Trust Southland, Rio Tinto NZAS and Murihiku Rūnaka Community Development Fund, and the Lottery NZ Board – and Southland Football’s own funds, we’ve raised $910,000.
We’re targeting $60,000 in community donations to get us across the line! We are confident Southlanders will back the vision and pitch in to support.
What is the timeframe?
The project will kick off in December 2025, and we expect to open the new turf come 2026 season kick off.
Thank you
Thank you in advance for your support – it is genuinely appreciated and we can’t wait to get our Southland community out on the new turf it deserves!
More info
If you’d like more information or like to discuss any donation, please get in touch with Iain Walker, Football Development & Operations Manager at iain@southlandfootball.org.nz or 021 613 674.