Upper Clutha Rugby Club president Paul Cunningham and Albion Cricket Club president Mike O'Connor say not enough is being done by the Queenstown Lakes District Council to provide interim solutions for Wanaka's sporting communities, while a proposed indoor sports facility and outdoor fields for the resort remain in limbo.
QLDC community services general manager Paul Wilson said there was an issue with the council providing funds for individual sports clubs and their members, because it effectively meant a section of the community was being subsidised by ratepayers.
Sporting clubs, "like anyone in the community" were welcome to make submissions to the council's annual financial plan considerations for funds, he said.
Mr Cunningham and Mr O'Connor cite the overcrowded and dilapidated state of Wanaka's Upper Clutha Rugby Club changing rooms as a perfect example of the council "sitting on their hands" and failing to help provide "alternatives" for sporting groups.
Two changing rooms are the only facilities for the more than 300 rugby players at the club - excluding the many visiting teams and out-of-town players, who also use the Wanaka Showgrounds-based clubrooms during winter.
Junior teams were being forced into getting changed outside during the winter months, Mr O'Connor said.
The pair have been pushing for new "temporary" changing shed facilities at the rugby club, while the council deliberates about a proposed multipurpose sports facility and grounds.
A multipurpose facility, which is hoped to provide a long-term solution to the needs of Wanaka's sporting communities, is on the back-burner while the QLDC investigates where it might be sited.
"We can't get any action from them [the council]," Mr Cunningham claims.
Sporting club heads from around Wanaka had met with representatives from the QLDC and Lakes Leisure in September about what alternatives could be provided to help address "crowding" and "over-use" of the Upper Clutha's sports facilities, Mr O'Connor said.
He called for local residents to picket Wanaka's QLDC councillors and community board members to take their concerns further.
Wanaka Basketball administrator Barry Harding said there was a burgeoning number of sporting people to be catered for and the need for a large multipurpose facility had to be addressed.
QLDC chief executive Duncan Field said he understood the frustrations of Wanaka's sporting communities and the need for new sporting facilities.
Mr Wilson said he was always prepared to meet and discuss "with anyone" issues regarding community facilities.
However, the council operated within a "current" tight economic climate and not everyone's funding proposals or projects could be catered for.
He advised community and sporting groups to always be seeking alternative revenue streams.
