The proposed turf at King’s High School has been in the works since May last year and has now cleared a key barrier.
It has received land approval from the Ministry of Education, the owner of the land.That gives the Otago Hockey Association the go-ahead to look at securing funding for its construction.
A three-way venture involving Otago Hockey, King’s and the Dunedin City Council, all parties are to contribute to the estimated $1.8 million cost.
The council will provide $500,000 of that, while the Otago Hockey Association and King’s will provide the rest.
Otago Hockey Association president Andrew Booth said they were still working through the process of how that cost would be divided.
An "all-weather multi-purpose turf", the facility would be water-based and would meet FIH standards.
It was to include both stands and lights.It was hoped construction would begin before next winter, although Booth said it was dependent on funding applications.
Many of the big funding outfits had their next round of applications closing in January.It had originally been hoped the turf would be ready for next season, although that was now looking unlikely.
"To be honest it would be nice but it won’t be, I don’t believe it will be [ready for next season]," Booth said.
"The plan is if we can get all the money together and get the groundwork started before the winter, that would be a good practical point."
The turf would be located next to the school’s tennis courts and would run parallel with Kirkcaldy St.
Booth said the turf would be a "huge asset" for the city.
Not only would it help provide the hockey community with much-needed space, it would be a facility multiple sports could use.
It would also allow the city to host bigger tournaments — which need three turfs — enabling it to bring people into town and help local businesses.
