Sport & Motorsport
Rugby Southland is spending more than $40,000 to re-level and re-seed two community rugby fields at ILT Centrepoint Oreti Park, with the work being carried out by local business Ryal Bush.
Fields 1 and 2 are the focus of the latest project, which follows the re-seeding of Fields 5 and 6 two years ago. Rugby Southland groundsman Pete Domigan said those fields had come a long way.
"With Fields 5 and 6 being re-sown two years ago, and regular maintenance since, they are now great fields. Come next season, Fields 1 and 2 will be like billiard tables," Domigan said.
The work at Oreti Park is part of a broader run of improvements in recent years. Rugby Southland has invested more than $100,000 to convert the lighting on Les George Oval to LED technology, and a further $50,000 into new goalposts, post pads, fencing and a brand-new LED digital scoreboard on Les George Oval. Combined with the latest field work and the previous re-seeding of Fields 5 and 6, the total investment represents more than $180,000 into the facility.
ILT Centrepoint Oreti Park has seven full-sized rugby fields, with an additional five to eight junior rugby fields in development for the 2027 season. The facility hosts junior, senior and representative rugby throughout the season.
Its use extends beyond rugby. In 2026, Rugby Southland extended an invitation to Football Southland, who used the fields throughout their community football season where availability allowed and where additional playing capacity was needed.
Ryal Bush project manager Nick Webb said the facility matters to the whole region.
"It's a key asset to the Southland community. It's there when we need it, and I think every person in Southland who plays rugby has benefited from Oreti Park," Webb said.
"Being able to deliver these improvements for the community is a big thing for us. We're proud to be a Southland business involved in a project that will benefit local rugby players, clubs and families for years to come."
Looking ahead, Rugby Southland said one of its future goals is to explore opportunities to install lighting on two additional fields at Oreti Park, which would create greater flexibility for clubs, schools and representative teams to train and play in the evenings.