Football club invests in home grounds
Manakau United Football Club has invested a huge amount of work in their home ground and facilities in anticipation of adding more teams in the future as the population of the small Horowhenua town continues to grow.
The club, which has appointed a new chairman and club captain to mark their 10th season, has extended their playing surface to make room for more teams and worked hard to improve facilities.
There was a changing of the guard with Pete Dawson and Marty Yaxley replacing Kimbal McHugo and Jamie Alcock as chairman and club captain respectively, although the later would still remain involved.
McHugo said MUFC, with an eye to the future, wanted new blood to continue the hard work.
“With the southern Horowhenua already growing at a tremendous rate and expectations that that growth will not taper when the new expressway opens, there was a need to take stock of where we had come from and to where we want the club to go,” he said.
“The start of the new decade has also seen the baton of club management passed onto a new team for MUFC . . . with some great ideas to grow and progress the club.”
“Realignment of the domain fence will allow two fields orientated north-south rather than the single field orientated east-west. That would allow the possibility of the club having more than just one team, while ensuring a good quality playing surface that had been built up over the last 10 years.”
“Those who have used the changing facilities at the Stade de Manakau will know that they were always a little cramped, with funding from Horowhenua District Council, MUFC has extended the changing rooms into what was a storage area on the eastern side of the pavilion. This has doubled the size of the changing rooms and will allow a full team to change rather than completing the process in shifts.”
“We also now have a shed for our tractor and mower, which allows the club to protect the clubs investment that was begged, borrowed, fundraised for. There is also a hardstand area in front of the pavilion for standing when the ground gets a little wet.”
“The changing room, hardstand area and tractor shed projects were mostly completed one Saturday using only club members — over 50 per cent of club members turned out for the event — a number that I think any community club of volunteers would be immensely proud of.
“Over the last 10 years MUFC has in conjunction with the Manakau District Community Association (guardians (Kaitiaki) of the Manakau Domain) and HDC, have maintained and enhanced the Manakau Domain. This has included these projects but also previously included replacing the pavilion roof, pavilion repairs, painting the pavilion and the toilet block, purchasing and installation of floodlights for training, demolition of the old and dangerous domain fence and mowing of what was initially just the pitch but now includes the whole domain.”
McHugo said for anyone wanting to play, training was on Tuesdays at 6pm at Manakau Domain.