EA Networks Centre is planning a fun day of free community activities to celebrate its 10th birthday on Sunday 11 May.

Over four million people have visited the stadium, pools and gym facilities over the past decade and Council chief executive Hamish Riach said a celebration was in order to mark the 10-year milestone.

“The EA Networks Centre is hugely popular and some of our regular users have been visiting from day one. The free activities organised for Sunday the 11th are across all the spaces and we hope people will come along and join in.”

Here is what’s on offer:

*Community breakfast at 9am-10.30am
*Gym: Free open access to tour and use equipment, 9am-2pm
*Pool: Free entry from 9am-2pm (pool alone policy still applies). Movie screening in the pool area at 12pm
*Stadium: Free entry from 9am-2pm with a variety of sports set up for the community to try, including basketball, pickleball, badminton, volleyball and toddler play area with bouncy castle
*Back-to-back group fitness classes 
*Adult swim lessons from 10am-11am: Advanced (10am-10.20am), Intermediate (10.20am-10.40am) and beginner (10.40am-11am). Free, but bookings are required with limited spaces

Mr Riach said the facility played an important role in the life of the community and was well supported.

“The next 10 years promise to be just as exciting, with the new mini golf course coming soon and a proposed stadium extension in the Long Term Plan. Many of our valued sponsorships are also reaching completion and we’ll look again to build partnerships with local businesses.”

Centre manager Richard Wood said staff were looking forward to the community celebration day.

“Ten years has passed quickly and the centre has firmly established itself as a great sporting hub for locals, as well as regional and national events.

“We’ve had the Tall Ferns play against a Japanese basketball team, we’ve hosted the national secondary schools netball champs and the Crusaders and Hurricanes came for a post match session.

“We love our locals just as much, and enjoy seeing their enthusiasm when they make progress on a health goal or catch up with friends for a class and then coffee. They are here when we open the doors at 6am and when we close them at night, and we love being part of their lives.”

Mr Wood said the centre was proud of its track record delivering high quality sport and events for the community.

“And there have been hundreds of these, from launching stadium inflatables to opening a new sand court recently. We look forward to the next exciting 10 years.”