Redeveloping the Manukau Sports Bowl to create a multi-million dollar sporting complex in the heart of Manukau is a project that Lotu Fuli wants to see happen.

Fuli is the chair of the Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board which will next week consider whether or not to proceed with a master plan for the redevelopment of the site.

The 21ha park is close to both the southern motorway and the Manukau metropolitan centre and was originally built in the late 1980s. Its cycling velodrome was used to host events at the 1990 Commonwealth Games.

But now 30 years later the facilities are getting old and coupled with a growing population Fuli said it was time to look at transforming it.

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Fuli said the Manukau Sports Bowl had so much potential and she was keen to see its facilities upgraded to meet the needs of the local community.

But before that can take place the local board will have to produce a business case which will look at the feasibility of the different options and the estimated costs involved.

She said while the existing facilities catered for greyhound racing, track cycling and tennis, they also needed to support local people who played other sports, such as kilikiti, rugby, rugby league, basketball and volleyball, as well as athletics.

Fuli said the board has already carried out some consultation as part of its 2020 plan and there was widespread support in the submissions for redeveloping the park.

“People are telling us they want an athletics track, an aquatic centre and a stadium to cater for basketball and volleyball,” she said.

“The community wants to see the park redeveloped. It’s underused and the only time we see it used to capacity is when we have the Polyfest.”

The research for the business case is already underway and is expected to be completed by April next year, before the design work would run through until February 2022. Consultation would then be held in late 2021 before sign-off by the Auckland Council planned for early 2022.

One of the options raised in the local board’s report was selling or leasing some of the land adjoining the Manukau Sports Bowl to help fund the project.

Fuli said she was more than willing to consider all the possibilities.

“This is aspirational and we’ve still got to secure the funding to do it,” she said.

But she’s committed to seeing it happen and said an upgraded Manukau Sports Bowl could meet the area’s needs for the next 20-30 years.

And according to the draft Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board Plan 2020 the project already has its support.