Papakura Netball Centre is the home of netball in Papakura, and the club has run here since 1938. It began after a meeting of the Papakura Amateur Athletic and Cycling Club decided to start a basketball club. In its early years it shared grounds with croquet, bowls and tennis, and it raised funds for a pavilion and floodlights. Members describe the move to the current Walters Road facility as the result of sixty years of fundraising and lobbying.
The centre runs 263 teams, each with a coach and an umpire, and about 400 volunteers, coaches, umpires and administrators support them. The centre estimates that more than 3,000 people visit each week in season, including the families and supporters who come along to games. It calls itself the premier provider of women's sport in Papakura, and it describes its membership as drawn from across the district in age, culture and background.
The site has a large pavilion, an office complex, a formal and an informal conference room, a commercial kitchen and changing rooms for players. Those rooms are the reason the centre suits a club day as well as a game day, with space for teams, officials and families in one place.
Our pick in Papakura for a netball family who want a club with a long history on the same ground.