Community asks Auckland Council for $80m park purchase
Sunday, 29 March 2026
A community campaign to keep the Avondale Racecourse grounds a public asset is calling on Auckland Council to enter negotiations with NZ Racing.
While horse racing in Avondale will finish in July, the 35ha site is home to rugby, cricket and football clubs as well as the Sunday Markets that are frequented by 20,000 visitors a week.
NZ Racing has been revealed to be in negotiations with housing developers as it exercises legislated powers to have the Avondale Jockey Club “transfer” it the land.
A community group - the Avondale Racecourse Alliance - has been working to bring those negotiations to light and wants the council to get involved.
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“We call on Auckland Council to enter deal-making happening now behind closed doors between AJC and NZTR to represent the interests of the people,” spokesperson Jaclyn Bonnici said.
“A deal will be done with or without us.”
The alliance has asked the council to “leverage all purchasing options” to ensure the “critical” green space remains in public ownership.
The park’s capital value is nearly $80 million, and would require the council to make an unbudgeted purchase.
Already the city has a $320m unfunded proposed park at the headland of Wynyard Point that has drawn criticism from mayor Wayne Brown.
Whau councillor Sarah Paterson-Hamlin knows it will be “a huge ask” of her fellow councillors, but says it would be an overdue investment for the area.
“I’m aware its a huge chunk of land, but there’s a precedent with purchase of Colin Maiden park. It’s a regional asset, it’s not just for Avondalians,” said Paterson-Hamlin.
She estimates that two thirds of visitors to the Sunday Markets are from outside the area. About 270 stallholders turn over around $250,000 a week with Aucklanders flocking to buy fresh fruit, vegetables and home goods.
“And, I think a lot of my colleagues who have been around longer than me are very aware this area has been neglected and struggled to obtain investment,” said Paterson-Hamlin.
Her pitch is to make use of roughly $6m already set aside for next year in the council’s long-term budget to acquire land for a community pool - with the racecourse being an obvious location for it anyway.
Already, the council leases part of the grounds for community sports $336,000. That money would be saved and should be factored in when considering a purchase, Paterson-Hamlin said in a letter to Brown.
Part of the grounds, most likely adjacent to Ash Street, could be sold to developers to cover the remainder of the shortfall.
The pitch follows a “people’s plan” commissioned by the Avondale Racecourse Alliance from Athfield Architects urban research firm HOOPLA.
“This plan is about getting ahead of the curve - doing the work now to show what is possible, and what is at risk if we don’t act. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to realise a jewel for Tāmaki Makaurau - and to do it together,” said Bonnici.
Auckland Council’s consultation on its “Annual Plan” budget document closes at midnight on Sunday.
It helps “shape the conversation” around council’s spending, said Paterson-Hamlin, and she encouraged Aucklanders to make a submission and mention the markets.
“If you are concerned about the markets, you’re sick of queues at Mt Albert [pools], worried about flooding, or you enjoy cricket, rugby or model airplanes, tell us that the racecourse is important to you.”
It “couldn’t hurt” to email the racing minister either, she said.