A $205,000 roof replacement at Auckland Hockey’s Lloyd Elsmore Park home has become urgent after a fresh leak, and the Board’s grant is meant to help unlock the rest
The Howick Local Board has granted $40,000 toward replacing the leaking roof of Auckland Hockey’s clubroom at Lloyd Elsmore Park, a building the Board was told serves more than 12,300 people.
The clubroom, built in 1990, is the home of Auckland Hockey and a training base for the Howick Pakuranga Hockey Club, the Masters Women’s Hockey Club, the Auckland Hockey Umpires Association and local schools.
The report to the Board from Auckland Council’s Sport & Recreation Lead, Marissa Holland, said the roof had been leaking since 2018.
Auckland Hockey carried out a roofing assessment and paid for repairs in March 2019, but the problem returned.
“A new leak was detected in May 2025 making the situation more acute,” the report said.
A full replacement is now needed and will cost about $205,000.
The facility was already listed in the Howick Sport and Active Recreation Facilities Plan, but not for its roof.
“The current roof-leak was discovered after the preparation of the plan and its repair has immediately become top priority for Auckland Hockey due to the need for a weather-tight building,” the report said.
Staff recommended the Board commit its entire $40,000 sport and recreation initiatives budget for the year to the project.
Auckland Hockey has applied for a further $100,000 in external grants, still to be confirmed, and would cover the remaining shortfall itself, which on the report’s figures is about $65,000.
Staff argued the Board’s grant could help unlock the larger sums, pointing to two projects at the same park.
A $42,000 grant to the Highbrook Watersports Centre in 2022/2023 “allowed the project to progress to eventually secure $5.6M” from Auckland Council’s Sport and Recreation Facilities Investment Fund, plus about $3 million from other funders, the report said.
A $42,000 grant to the Pakuranga United Rugby Club gymnasium project the same year went on to secure $8.2 million from the same fund and about $5 million in third-party funding.
Staff had workshopped the recommendation with the Board on 9 April, where the report said members “were supportive of the recommended approach”.
The grant, moved by member Damian Light and seconded by deputy chair Kai Zeng, was approved on 28 May.
The Howick Pakuranga Hockey Club, formed in 1974 from a handful of Pakuranga College players and now one of the largest hockey clubs in the country, has been based at the park for decades.
