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@mrkawasaki
Powerhaus update - met with the General and Ops Managers this afternoon to discuss MCR Polo and the use of their courts.
Powerhaus only operate the netball court (recently resurfaced at a cost of £100k!), the other court belongs to the council parks division. The lights are of a national standard for netball tournaments - probably the best in the city. The court is currently only used by a ladies netaball team on a Monday.
The package we are working on is a free use of the court, the court becoming a fully locked facility with us holding our own key, the lights being set for the required periods and us paying lighting costs only. Initially we are talking about a regular Thursday session from 6.30-9.30 (any later and they have complaints from neighbours about the lights) through the winter period (ie. clock change to clock change). We would of course are free to use the court during daylight hours - including w/e.
Let's see how much the lighting costs, bed in for a few regular sessions (making sure we use the court time fully - we will not look good if we leave lights on without players playing!) and then consider expanding to either Tuesdays or Sunday evenings under lights.
Consideration needs to be taken re. locals - we are advised to announce ourselves through posters in the buildings and we have said we are more than happy to give people a try of polo, with an option to run newbie sessions if locals come forward. They suspect not - but it needs to be offered to avoid conflicts or resentments. Let's be positive in the first few weeks - as this venue is worth keeping.
They are keen for us to use the rest of the facility for occasional tournaments - there is an indoor court for basketball which sadly is too slippy IMHO for decent play, however there are full changing facilities and other useful features we could use. More tournaments for MCR could easily be based here all year round!
Lastly, we need to fully establish our identity, funding and sort out some liability insurance if we are to sign a contract for regular sessions. More on this as we develop MHPA next week - but all do-able.
Fingers crossed that lighting doesn't cost the earth!
Over and out....