The Trusts Arena Celebrates 20th Anniversary

Over 100 delegates, long-standing friends and stakeholders of The Trusts Arena gathered today Wednesday 9th April 2025 to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of The Trusts Arena in Henderson, West Auckland.  Simon Dallow was the Master of Ceremonies who has a long association with The Trusts Arena.

“I’d like to pay tribute to the founding fathers who had the vision to create The Arena including my father Ross Dallow, alongside Rex Davy, Tim Livingstone, Bryan Heron, Paul Thomson, Ivan Yukich, Sir Graeme Douglas amongst others.”

“I would like to acknowledge our current board members lead by our Chair Katie Bhreatnach. Trustees include Anne Walsh, James Bundy, Kenneth Aiolupotea, Craig Mayo, Dr Raymond Tan, and Jill Steffert.”

Katie Bhreatnach Chairperson of the Trusts Arena introduced Tyler Taua-Gordon who provided a mihi whakatau on behalf of Te Kawerau ā Maki.

“I want to extend our deepest gratitude to of Te Kawerau ā Maki our mana whenua. To all the dignitaries and honoured guests who have joined us today we see you, we value you and we thank you for standing alongside us. Today is a celebration of not just where we are, but of where we’ve come from. And that means taking a moment to salute those who planted the seed.”

Katie was thrilled to announce details about The Trust Arena Light Force Solar Power initiative. “Thanks to Light force the solar power initiative is now complete. We’d also like to acknowledge Tataki Auckland Unlimited for funding the solar panels as part of our sustainability investment partnership. Not only do the solar panels on our roof safeguard us as a civil defence emergency centre but our annual energy consumption will be reduced by 38%, making this a pivotal step towards The Trusts Arena sustainable future.”

Katie Bhreatnach welcomed interim CEO Lynette Adams who recently moved into the role and previous CEO for Sport Waitakere. Lynette acknowledged former CEOs Mike Ocego, Mark Gosling, Brian Blake and Simon Wickham. “You have laid a platform to take TTA into the next 20 years.”

Lynette saluted Red Viliamu an honorary pounamu for his service to The Trusts Arena. Red was at the Arena since the spades were put into the ground and manages community sports clubs. Unfortunately, Red was unable to attend.

“I am taking a delegate of 40 children to America to participate in college Basketball and Volleyball – showcasing our talent to local selectors.” He said on what makes this place special “The people, the community and this place.”

The first CEO Simon Wickham was present said “it was so good to see the Arena looking as good today as it did in its inception. It’s a multipurpose arena that West Auckland can be proud of that can host both local sport & recreation events, as well as major community & International music events. All those things that brought the concrete and steel tin to life.”

Former Mayor of Waitakere City Sir Bob Harvey said, “I can remember so well when Ivan Yukich came to the Council and said we need something for our kids, so we gave $2m to help fund The Trusts Arena.”

“Our fundraising continues, and we have the Cube Scoreboard and Shot Clock that needs to be replaced for our International and National Basketball and Netball competition games that are televised. We have raised $127,000 over the past two years and we still need $40,000 to complete this upgrade project. For those interested in learning more or contributing to this project, please reach out to our Leadership Team.” continued Chairperson Katie.

Stu Finch from HDAV said “The Trusts Arena is one of the best venues in the country it’s very versatile as we can do everything in here from corporate events to expos, to full on international concerts. And we have a full list of great events coming up like Northern Mystics, the Warriors, MMA and Touch Bass.”

Alongside the Arena sits the multipurpose Grandstand and two rugby fields. Athletics Club President for Waitakere Athletics Carl Gruebner said, “We have a booming club with lots of children doing amazing things right through level of Maddie Wesche with her Olympic success in shotput.”

Outgoing Trustee James Bundy relayed the good financial position The Trusts Arena is in and announced expression of interest for future stability “Due to our founding structure with Waitakere City Council we are debt free; however to build further for the future today we are seeking expressions of interest for our Waitakere City Stadium Trust Endowment fund to sustain the legacy of our Trusts Arena into the future. Funds bequeathed or donated could be used for future capital development of the stadium, operating cost funding or to enable more free access for community users as the Donor requires for their bequest or donation.”

The event wrapped with a toast and cutting of the cake by Katie Bhreatnach, Jeff Douglas and Tim Livingstone.