The Ashburton Sports Hall could be put up for sale after being gifted to the district council, putting long-running community events like Bookarama at risk.
The Tancred St hall has been owned and managed by the Ashburton Centennial Sports Hall Society since 1954, but the organisation is now being wound up and is gifting the building to the Ashburton District Council.
The council is preparing a report that will assess the future options for the building, including the possibility of selling it.
Council chief executive Hamish Riach said members of the society had met with the council to request that it take over ownership of the sports hall.
“The society has done great work for our community over many years in keeping the sports hall operating, but changes to the law around incorporated societies have led them to offer the facility to council.”
The decision to accept the hall as a gift was made by councillors on March 18 and also called for an options analysis on the future use of the building, Riach said.
“After the property is transferred to council on March 31, staff will prepare an options analysis for councillors’ consideration, and this will include the possibility of selling, a potential outcome known and understood by the society.
“We’re conscious there are existing bookings, and they will be factored in.”
A preliminary building condition assessment was undertaken, Riach said.
“We’ve received some financial information from the society, including some operating costs.
“We’d expect this information to be canvased in more detail in the options analysis to be considered by Councillors in due course.”
Rotary club’s David Mead knew the changeover was coming and that it could signal bad news for Bookarama.
“We can’t really do a lot until they decide what they are going to do,” Mead said.
“I think it could be a bad thing if they sold it.
“I don’t know where else we could go and I would hate for it to be the end of Bookarama if they sell it or pull it down.
“There are not any options to hold an event like ours so close to the centre of town.”
The club is preparing for its annual book sale in September, and it is now a “wait and see” if it will be in the hall for at least one more year.
Mead said the building “has a few issues, there is no doubt about that”.
“But nothing that couldn’t be fix.”
However, Mead acknowledged ratepayers may not have an appetite to inherit a building needing a lot of maintenance.
The site, once a livery stable, was converted into a sports stadium for the 1950 Canterbury Centennial.
