About Bay Oval
Learn more about Bay Oval, the home of Bay of Plenty cricket since 2007.
Closer to the action
Since the first club fixture in March 2007, Bay Oval has been the home of Bay of Plenty cricket and hosted many epic cricketing moments from domestic to international levels of the game. The Oval is located in the heart of greater Tauranga right next to the famous surf beaches of Mt Maunganui. The relaxed beachside vibe combined with some of the sunniest and consistently good weather makes the Bay Oval one of the most enjoyable grounds to both play and watch cricket in New Zealand. With a capacity of 12,000, Bay Oval offers a boutique sporting atmosphere bringing cricket fans even closer to the action!
Image: Zespri AIMS Games Media
The Bay Oval Trust
The Bay of Plenty Cricket Trust (CC 41339) was constituted in 2009 by the Bay of Plenty Cricket Association. The purpose of the Bay of Plenty Cricket Trust was 'to enable and encourage the community to play cricket or other games and sports thereby assisting in the physical health and well being of the Bay of Plenty community'. In 2014 the Bay of Plenty Cricket Trust was renamed Bay Oval Trust.
The Bay Oval Trust is responsible for the development of the Bay Oval, which is situated on Blake Park, Mount Maunganui. The Bay Oval now comprises an international level cricket ground, wickets, outdoor (grass) practice nets and a newly completed pavilion, with player facilities second to none in New Zealand.
The catalyst for this venture occurred when first class cricket was lost from Blake Park in 2001. Management and Board recognised that it was essential to the profile of cricket that first-class games were returned. This was an opportunity to look ahead 50 years, to grasp the potential of what the ground could become to Tauranga, the Bay of Plenty and New Zealand.
The Bay Oval project became active in 2005 when it was adopted as part of the Blake Park sporting precinct's future development policy. Since then all groundworks have been completed. The Bay Oval has been functioning both as a multi-level cricket ground (junior, club, representative and first-class levels) and as a community sports ground with regular junior soccer and rugby during the winter months.
The Bay Oval has also hosted a free community Christmas concert, the 2011 Cancer Society Relay for Life, and was the ‘home base’ for the 2012 NZCT AIMS (Association of Intermediate Schools) Games.
Since the idea of the Bay Oval was first mooted and then accepted by Tauranga City Council in the 2005 Active Reserve Management Plan, there has been ongoing work in developing and designing a community pavilion for the Bay Oval. Trustees commissioned renowned architects Jasmax to work alongside the Bay of Plenty Cricket Trust to ensure a cost effective, highly flexible and appropriate community facility for the Bay Oval was designed.
To manage funding constraints Trustees In 2011 opted for a staged construction plan for the proposed Bay Oval Community Pavilion. By October of 2012 Stage 1A, the public toilets and ground user storage had been completed. In December of 2013 Stage 1B, comprising flexible changing rooms (with a number of variations in size available depending on user requirements), player viewing areas, lounge, kitchen and meeting facilities was completed. The Trust believes that they have successfully designed a community building that will serve the cricketing fraternity and the wider sporting and volunteer community very well.
The Bay Oval has become a facility that is the home of cricket in the Bay of Plenty, and a focal point for all cricket lovers and players alike!
Bay Oval Trustess
The members of the Board of Trustees are all prominent business people who share a love of cricket and their community. They all have the ability to drive and realise a vision for the future of one of New Zealand's iconic international cricket grounds.
James Beale
James is a Founding Partner and Chair of the Investment Committee for Oriens Capital, a private equity firm based in Tauranga. He is a member of the Institute of Directors, and he is a director on a number of Oriens’ investment entities including Rockit Global Limited, PMG, IVS Group Holdings and TMG Cloudland. James has played and watched cricket for many decades. He lives in Mount Maunganui with his wife Bec and their three sons.
Neil Craig
Neil graduated from Lincoln University (Christchurch) in 1974. Previously he worked for Federated Farmers, then a Fletcher Challenge subsidiary, Tasman Pulp & Paper Ltd as an Economist, before founding Craig & Co. Limited in 1984. Through a series of acquisitions, he built Craig & Co. into a retail broking business with a national presence. Neil is also Chairman of NZX-listed Comvita Limited and a Director of Pohutukawa Private Equity Limited. Neil was Managing Director of Craigs Investment Partners until 2005 and retains the role of Executive Chairman.
Craig Greenlees
Craig Greenlees has lived in Tauranga since 1983, when he purchased his 1st Kiwifruit Orchard, previously working in the NZ Forest Industry. Craig is Joint Managing Director of DMS Progrowers a Kiwifruit Post Harvest and Management company he co-founded in 1989. He is a CA of the CAANZ (Chartered Accountants of Australia and NZ) and Member of the NZ Institutes of Management and Directors. Previously Craig was a Director of Zespri for 15 years including 6 as Chairman, and is currently Chairman of Avocado Oil NZ Ltd and a Director of a number of Kiwifruit associated businesses. A passionate follower of Cricket, Craig enjoys cycling, skiing and travel
Fraser Lellman
Fraser is the Managing Partner of BDO Tauranga, a Board member of BDO New Zealand and a member of the BDO National Finance committee. BDO is an international chartered accountancy and business advisory network. Fraser has over 28 years of business and governance experience including having past directorship positions on a regional economic development agency, and was Secretary of the Tauranga Energy Consumer Trust (‘TECT’). He is a former Board member of Northern Districts Cricket Association and a Director of Grassroots Trust Ltd. He enjoys a strong association within the charitable, sporting, school and education and not for profit sectors in both a professional business and personal capacity.
Bernadette Ryan-Hopkins
Bernadette is originally from Rotorua and after a career that took her to Japan, the UK and Auckland, returned to the BOP in 2013 to work for Zespri International Ltd in a Global Sourcing role. She co-founded Professional Services Recruitment firm, Ryan + Alexander Consultancy Ltd in 2016 where she is currently a Director. Bernadette also currently serves on the Boards of both WBOP Cricket and BOP Cricket. Bernadette has two Primary school-aged, cricket-mad sons and an ex-professional cricketer for a husband so has a very strong interest in the game but is also very interested in the Bay Oval's positive impact on the wider BOP region.
