The new sports facility being built at Thames High School is quickly taking shape, with the foundations in place and the flooring joists being laid in preparation for the walls to be built.

The $4.8 million Thames Indoor Sports Facility is a joint project of The Thames-Coromandel District Council, Thames High School and the Thames Sport and Education Community Trust.

A large crane is currently on site and stacks of building materials are ready to be lifted into place.

TCDC project manager Len Whittaker says construction of the gym is expected to be completed around June, and once finished, the facility will be available for use by both the community and the high school.

'The ground work phase of any building project is always the most difficult and time-consuming [but] once it's out of the ground, the rest of it happens quite quickly.”

The new indoor sports facility is being built right next door to the existing high school gymnasium, making it a two-court venue that will be suitable for hosting senior-level tournaments for netball, volleyball, basketball, badminton, gymnastics and other sports.

For many years sports clubs and the high school have been constrained by the limited facilities available in the Thames area for indoor sports, resulting in high school teams and clubs competing for the limited space and time that was available.

'The new Thames indoor sports facility will provide the much needed extra space that the community has wanted for a long time.”

The gym is part of the Active Thames 2018 group of projects, which includes the skate and scooter park at Porritt Park and a future multi-sport clubrooms development at Rhodes Park

To view more photos of Thames Indoor Sports Facility's construction visit the Thames-Coromandel District Council's website at: www.tcdc.govt.nz/thamesgympictures

The site at Thames high School in September 2016.