Parakiore edges closer to handover but opening still unclear

Saturday, 19 April 2025

Christchurch’s long-awaited Parakiore recreation and sport centre is edging closer to completion, but a formal opening date remains unconfirmed as construction teams push to complete the final stages.

The facility, located near Christchurch’s central city, is about 90% complete and construction is on track to finish by October.

Despite that timeline, no opening date has been announced - a point of uncertainty for the groups preparing to use the space, including Special Olympics New Zealand.

Nigel Cox, head of recreation, sports and events at Christchurch City Council, said the council could not set an opening date until “practical completion” - the handover process - had been signed off.

This process involves the building being checked and tested before being handed over from Crown Infrastructure Delivery (CID), which managed the construction, to the city council.

“Practical completion isn't handed over on a specific date,” Cox said. “It's handed over when everything meets what's required for the practical completion to be issued.”

There were two parts to this for the council. One involved inspections to insure building compliance, while the other involved Cox’s department learning and checking the equipment such as data networks, the pools, the heating and cooling systems.

After that’s complete, the council takes control of the building and starts installing what it needs to operate the facility, such as chairs, desks, and gym equipment.

The next step is staff training before testing everything works as it should when it's full of people.

This includes testing the hydroslides, leisure pools and competition pool, as well as the courts all at the same time.

“We do testing through that to make sure that when we open the building, it's good to go under load with people in there, not just isolated parts of it.”

One major test will be the “royal flush” where they attempt to flush every toilet in the complex to ensure it can handle the load.

This all ends with one grand opening, before hosting its first big event, the National Summer Games, the main event for athletes with an intellectual disability in New Zealand.

Cox is confident they will open in time.

“Based on what we've currently got, we're working hard to be able to do that. We're confident we will be able to and we're continuing to work with them [CID].”

The venue will host the swimming and basketball competitions due to start on December 10.

Liz Fitzgerald, the events director for Special Olympics New Zealand, said she had been told everything was on track and the games will be held there.

She said she had not been given an opening date but they were looking to access Parakiore before December to run some small trial events.

However, she said they do have a plan B in case there were delays.

The project’s completion timeline has been revised multiple times. It was delayed in 2023 due to legal issues, and throughout 2024 expected completion dates were updated.

Final costs for the project, which have increased several times, will not be released until it is finished.

CID project director Alistair Young said the facility now resembled the finished product, with construction focused on the main reception and entry areas, including floor and stairwell tiling.

The aquatics area - which includes a significant number of bathrooms and changing rooms - requires around 8000sqm of tiling, roughly the size of a rugby field.

One of the first zones set to be finished is the High Performance Sport New Zealand level, which includes a 60m indoor running track, throwing cage, gym, kitchen, and treatment and recovery spaces for elite athletes.

A key recent milestone was the installation of the liner for the 50m competition pool, which is undergoing watertightness testing before it can be filled.