New Christchurch sports complex gets off to rocky start with hospitalisations and equipment issues

Friday, 19 December 2025

It has been a rocky start for Christchurch's new $63 million recreation and sports complex just days into its opening.

The Parakiore Recreation and Sports Centre opened to the public on Wednesday, however, hopes for a smooth start were quickly dashed.

Even before the public were allowed through the doors, there had been an incident in the pool: a Special Olympics swimmer was taken to hospital for observation after swallowing water.

As reported by The Press, the incident last Sunday occurred during a race at the Special Olympics National Summer Games, which were taking place at the complex.

A Special Olympics spokesperson said the swimmer involved was helped very quickly.

“One of the Special Olympics swimmers this morning swallowed some water during a race and got distressed.

“One of the lifeguards immediately pulled the athlete out of the water and was instantly attended to by the onsite medical team, before she was taken to hospital for observation,” they told The Press.

Then on Thursday, a person posted on Reddit that their child’s foot got “caught” under the double doors between the main pool and kids pool area. This resulted in a severed tendon, with the child requiring hospitalisation.

There have been a number of smaller teething issues as well for the facility, with a whiteboard list keeping track.

Speaking in response to the issues at the facility, Christchurch City Council’s Head of Recreation, Sports and Events, Nigel Cox, told Stuff the issues listed on the whiteboard were identified during the first day of opening.

Among them were the leisure buckets not being in sequence, a stuck tube slide, an overflowing tube slide, the drinking fountain not working, and some wet play slide lights not working well.

“Our team is working on resolving these issues and addressing any feedback we have received,” he said.

Cox also said they were aware of the incident involving the injured child, and were investigating.

“As with all incidents, we are conducting an investigation with the goal of eliminating any future risks.”

Cox said they had received a “significant amount of positive feedback from the community” since the opening.

At 32,000 square metres, Parakiore is New Zealand’s largest indoor sports and aquatics facility, with a 50-metre competition pool, a 25x20m dive pool, and 1000 poolside seats.

The facility also had nine indoor courts, including a three-court Show Court with retractable grandstands for 2500 spectators.

For families, the centre boasted a hydroslide tower with five slides, including the adrenaline-pumping “Looping Rocket”.

The project has been more than a decade in the making.