Plans for a new first-class wicket on Centennial Park for next season received a setback when prices came in, but the project will still go ahead after adjustments yesterday by the Waitaki District Council.
Cricket and rugby used to have six months each on the Whitestone Contracting Centennial Park Oval, but in recent years an extended rugby season has eaten into cricket's share.
That came to a head last year when both sports wanted the oval at the same time.
The solution was to create a first-class cricket wicket on fields two and three behind the oval, giving both sports separate access to top facilities for all their seasons.
The council set aside $250,000 for the project, which has to start early next month to be ready next season.
But when tenders came in, the cheapest was $335,290.
Recreation manager Eric van der Spek told the council this week North Otago Cricket wanted to see the project go ahead and accepted changes had to be made.
To enable the project to proceed, the council decided to provide extra funding by deferring in-ground irrigation on the oval to save $57,080, and allocating $16,770 from Whitestone Contracting's sponsorship of the park and a further $11,440 in other funds.
Underground irrigation had been planned for the oval but was felt to be unnecessary now because cricket would not use the oval in summer and other irrigation methods could be used.
The wicket project includes levelling the grounds, installing irrigation, building the wicket block, sowing and growing on grass, and project management.
