Biggest ‘transformational’ year for Alexandra Park ever   25 May 2015

Biggest ‘transformational’ year for Alexandra Park ever, says chairman

The business and property model that served Alexandra Park for 125 years has been completely turned on its head in recent months, in what have been described as the biggest changes to the home of Auckland harness racing since racing began there in 1890.

Chairman of the Auckland Trotting Club, Kerry Hoggard, says after years of Alexandra Park holding its own, his board of directors have opted to take some major transformational steps to secure the park’s long-term future as well as help grow the sport.  

“We’ve locked in three strategic pillars we are primarily focused on: Repositioning harness racing in the region, growing Alexandra Park’s business and attracting new audiences, and lifting the value of the club’s existing property portfolio,” says Hoggard.

Deriving more from its asset in hugely valuable Epsom has seen Alexandra Park this year become a property developer, transforming part of its “dustbowl car park” into a high-end mixed use urban village dubbed “223 Green Lane West”.

The club is now negotiating leases for the development’s prime ground floor retail, hospitality and commercial space. At the same time it’s selling beautifully-appointed apartments above on freehold unit titles, which are going well helped by the double grammar zone location and plenty of registrations via www.apliving.co.nz 

Another coup for the board in maximising the park’s returns was confirmation earlier this year that a dedicated training centre on the far side of the track near Campbell Crescent will be constructed for the Super 15 rugby franchise The Blues. Construction has now begun with The Blues new base set to open by the end of this year. A practice field will also be developed in the middle of the track.

“We’ve actually played the role of landlord for some time. Our tenants include Cirque du Soleil. Grand Park Chinese restaurant, Sport Auckland, Lollipops day-care, an IT company in the old Epsom Stand, Caltex and Burger King on Manukau Road. Then there’s the car-parking income we get which is not insignificant. What’s more the Alex Eatery is owned by the club and the Park’s TAB has the biggest turnover of any in the country. So there’s already a lot happening within the Park, but we still want to do better.”

While the club, prior to these developments, boasts a total annual revenue stream of $21m and a $60m asset base, it’s determined to keep lifting those numbers and that includes ongoing improvements to the likes of its conference facilities in addition to any new development projects.

Hoggard and his board also want to take a lead in rebuilding and repositioning harness racing in the northern region. Last year Alexandra Park’s merger with the Franklin Trotting Club was completed with the number of horses now using the Pukekohe training facilities up 40%.

“We’re taking quite a holistic approach. We want to reduce the costs for people in the sport and attract young trainers. Ideally we’d probably like to establish a training centre out there and that includes doing a master-plan for the Pukekohe site.”

The third pillar the board has asked its chief executive Dominque Dowding and her staff to focus on is attracting new audiences and lifting harness racing’s image, which Hoggard describes as traditionally having a three-star reputation in the modern world of professional sport. 

“Harness Racing hasn’t had a terribly glamorous image but when we get people into the likes of our Top Of The Park lounge overlooking the track under lights on a Friday night, with great hospitality and all the comforts, they absolutely love it. Our conference facilities are also really well received by many and provide an important income stream for the club. But again we need to keep improving our offering.”

Hoggard describes the Special General Meeting late last year as the club’s most important, when it made its biggest financial decision ever. There members signed up to the board’s proposal to borrow nearly $200m to fund the initial stages of developing the new urban village.

He says a deliberate move in recent years to recruit a lot of commercial acumen around the board table has been critical to transforming the club’s focus and securing the confidence of many long-time members to make the big decisions.

“Our members know that if we want to keep growing harness racing in Auckland, things have to change and so overwhelmingly, they’ve been hugely supportive. This is not about flogging off any of our land, as we’re retaining all of it. This is all about securing the club’s long-term viability and people are very encouraging of that.” 

Hoggard says ensuring a quality built environment and world-class urban design and planning is at the heart of any change at Alexandra Park, noting the club will have to live and work among the new developments.

“Rest assured ‘223 Green Lane West’ will actually give the suburb of Epsom a heart, something it has lacked for so long despite it being such a popular residential and family suburb here in Auckland.

“The shift in mindset we all need to make is that in the near future people will come to Alexandra Park not just for harness racing or a conference, but to experience some great urban residential living, high-end boutique retail stores, top food and beverage and lovely public spaces. Alexandra Park will be a real lifestyle destination. That in itself is a massive change.”

Hoggard says the past 12 months have been hugely exciting for the club. He hopes his board will one day be remembered for making the hard commercial decisions at the right time to ensure future generations could also enjoy a key Auckland asset which is Alexandra Park.

www.apliving.co.nz

ENDS

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