Thousands of West Auckland netballers and their families are set to benefit from new funding which will install energy efficient lighting at one of the region’s busiest community venues.

The Te Pai Centre at Netball Waitakere in Henderson, currently caters for over 520 Winter League teams and 170 Summer League teams in the West Auckland region.

The centre is the major facility and headquarters for Waitakere but is also utilised by a wide range of community groups throughout most of the year.

The funding will see lighting at the decade-old building replaced with new LED bulbs.

Karyne Ross general manager of Netball Waitakere says the $15,000 funding from The Trusts West Auckland could not have come at a better time.

“The old style halogen bulbs were beginning to fail at regular intervals which meant we needed to hire expensive mechanical equipment to reach them - costing us more than $500 every time we had to change a lightbulb.

“We have also had large events such as wedding receptions, where the power drain with the existing lighting and the use of AV equipment would cause an outage.

Ross says replacement of the more energy efficient bulbs will save them around 65% off their annual lighting energy bill as well as reducing the need for ad hoc maintenance in the 10 metre high ceiling area.

She says thanks to the funding, the centre will be able to ensure participation fees are kept affordable for their almost 700 netball teams and the numerous community groups who use the venue; as well as providing better lighting to enhance the experience of thousands of West Auckland locals each year.

The Trusts chief executive Simon Wickham, whose organisation provided the grant says they are committed to helping deserving West Auckland charities and sporting groups such as Netball Waitakere in any way they can.

“The news that our support will help reduce the costs of so many West Auckland sporting households is immensely rewarding for us.

“It is our goal that every dollar we give back will make a tangible difference to the local community,” he says.

Earlier this year, The Trust’s Million Dollar Mission also provided funding for new goal post padding to ensure the netball centre was compliant with the latest health and safety regulations.

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