Whanganui

Cooks Garden

Cooks Gardens has a rich history, encompassing early settlement days when the facility was utilised to grow vegetables for soldiers of the stockade.

INFORMATION

We have sourced out some of the best information and tips on cooks garden in Wanganui New Zealand.

HISTORY

Check out the history behind cooks garden and see why its one of the best place to visit in Wanganui New Zealand.

FUNCTIONS

Check out some of things that cooks garden caters for and see what all the fuss is about in Wanganui.

COOKS GARDEN

INFORMATION

Cooks Gardens

Cooks Gardens is one of this country’s leading outdoor sporting venues and is famous as the site of Peter Snell’s world mile record of 3min 54.4sec set on 27 January 1962.

A 400m synthetic athletics track, a 250m wooden cycling velodrome, and a grassed sports ground flanked by grandstands seating a total of 3,500 people make Cooks Gardens a premier sports and entertainment centre. The stadium is the home of Athletics Wanganui, which hosts a number of national and regional athletics events, and Rugby Wanganui, which stages its matches in the New Zealand Heartland Championship at the venue. Cooks Gardens has also been host to a diverse range of events including motorcross, rodeo, equestrian show jumping, fireworks displays, motor shows, tattoos and music concerts. It’s close proximity to the central business district, hotel and motel facilities, professional sports support services and the competition friendly environment places Cooks Gardens in the five star category of sports venues. It is recognised as a facility of truly international standard.

The venue also features the Cooks Bar & Function Centre and meeting rooms capable of hosting and catering to a wide range of occasions from wedding receptions to staff parties, and conferences to board meetings. Situated in the heart of Wanganui, the redeveloped multi-purpose venue is available to all sporting codes and event organisers.

Cooks garden Stadium

The major feature of the stadium is a 400m synthetic athletic track built in 1995, which has been described as one of the best tracks in New Zealand. It is the home of Athletics Wanganui and has hosted international meetings, NZ Secondary Schools’ Championships, NZ Masters Games events, and was the venue for the first professional athletics meeting in NZ in February 2008. The track has also hosted overseas teams for training.

The stadium also features a rugby field which is used for Wanganui Rugby’s home games in the New Zealand Heartland Championship, as well as 2^nd XV, age group and secondary school matches.

The ground is flanked by grandstands that seat a total 3,500 spectators and terracing capable of holding a further 17,200 spectators.

The layout of the venue and the facilities it offers provide an ideal venue for a very wide range of sporting, musical and community events

Cooks Garden Velodrome

Cooks Gardens contains New Zealand’s first wooden cycling velodrome, which was built in 1994 and has been host to many international, national and local events. A number of national records have been set on the track. The fast track and Wanganui’s very favourable climate have resulted in several overseas cycling teams using the venue for training.

Wanganui has a very strong Cycling Club, with many internationally qualified coaches and officials and excellent training facilities resulting in one of the strongest cycling centres in the country.

Investigations are presently being made into the development of the velodrome to provide a fully covered events centre, which will cater to an even wider range of sports and events.

Cooks garden Function Centre

A well-appointed function centre, seating up to 100 guests, offers ideal facilities for a range of functions, including:

Weddings
21^st and birthday parties
Family reunions
Staff functions
Business conferences
Presentations and seminars
Sports functions

Facilities include:

Full bar facilties
In-house catering with a wide range of menus and service to suit all budgets
Meeting facilities, including projectors, screens, whiteboards, etc. for large and small groups
Panoramic views
Great photography locations
Located adjacent to good accommodation venues and parking availability

Cooks Garden Weddings

Cooks Gardens has got it all to host any kind of function! This place is spacious, lovely and provides a bit of landmark status for the customers. Therefore, if you are looking towards planning your wedding, or just looking forward to host a family dinner, then the Cooks Gardens will cover you in everything!

The Cooks Gardens have got all the longs and shorts to host a quality function! Everything from a spoon to a catering service will be available at spot at the Gardens! Therefore, if you are intending to host a good function then do give Cooks Gardens a shot!

Cooks Garden Conferences

Conferences and other formal events is another thing that requires much consideration in planning. Luckily for you, the Cooks Gardens will assist you in conducting such events too!

The Cooks Gardens have got all the audio-visual aids that you would require to host a good conference. Also, there is a dedicated function center that could accommodate upto 100 guests! This function hall is stuffed with multimedia tools. Therefore, for your successful conference, Cooks Gardens can play a huge role!

cooks garden

history

Rich History

Cooks Gardens has a rich history, encompassing early settlement days when the facility was utilized to grow vegetables for soldiers of the stockade.

Sports Arena

Its use as a sporting facility commenced in 1896 when the Wanganui Amateur Athletic and Cycling Club, the United Cricket Club and the Wanganui Rugby Union initiated the development of a sports arena.

Peter Snell

Since then Cooks Gardens has been the venue of a number of the world’s historic athletic and cycling occasions, which has resulted in the Cooks Gardens name becoming legendary. One of these occasions was on 27 January 1962 when 13,000 people crammed into Cooks Gardens to witness Peter Snell run the fastest sub four minute mile ever run anywhere in the world at that time, with a time of 3min 54.4sec.

Redevelopment

In 1996 a multi-million dollar re-development of Cooks Gardens took place.
This included an all-weather synthetic 400m athletic track, the first wooden cycling velodrome in New Zealand, and a new grandstand which includes some of the most up-to-date media, corporate box, security and event function facilities and provides seating for 2,370.

Cooks Garden redevelopment

Although promoted primarily as an events and sports centre, Cooks Gardens has seen a wide range of events taking place including equestrian show jumping, rodeo, motor shows, concerts, tattoos and other forms of general entertainment.

Redevelopment of Cooks Gardens was completed in 2004 with the construction of two further grandstands, which provide an additional 1,170 covered seats, 4 sports changing rooms, officials’ facilities, medical rooms, and public toilets.

Cooks Garden

uses

Function Centre & Lounge

Sports Events are a thing of Cooks Gardens!

Sports Events

This seems pretty obvious that this facility was originally intended to host Sports Events, and it still lives upto this task! There is a clear grass ground in this area, with tracks running at the boundaries of the grass! This is an ideal setting for hosting a cricket, or a soccer match. Also, running competitions can be organized within this stadium, thanks to the awesome track located inside this stadium!

Parties

The Cooks Gardens is definitely a life of the parties! There are a lot of handsome features that you can have in the open grounds of this venue. Also, the drinks and the food will be readily available to you, thanks to the bar and the kitchen.

There is an impressive lighting that could be tweaked according to your mood, a bar, and a lot of space for you and your friends!

Functions

The Cooks Gardens Function Centre & Lounge is the perfect venue for any function – business or pleasure, large or small. It can accommodate up to 100 guests seated or up to 200 guests standing. Adjoining the Function Centre is the Cooks Conference Room. Function Centre provide magnificent views of the stadium and wider city beyond, as well as abundant natural light.