Aucklanders hoping to use sport as an escape from the thought of the mountainous clean-up ahead for the region are discovering just how widespread the damage is with codes now struggling to find facilities for their sports.
Only just back on their feet after Covid, sports clubs and associations have been hit hard after flood waters tore through their facilities on Friday.
One example is the Badminton North Harbour offices in Wairau Valley, or rather what is left of them, with the pro shop ruined and staff cars still left from where they were parked on Friday before the skies opened up.
Badminton North Harbour chief executive Glenn Cox is just thankful to be alive though, with the centre cleared on Friday about 6pm with the waters rising around him.
"I was just keeping my head up," Cox said.
"I was holding my wallet and my phone!"
Cox made it out but the centre wasn’t so lucky, repairs likely to take a year and with a $2 million price tag.
"We put through 150,000 people annually, that's just come to a grinding halt."
Not far across the Northern Motorway, basketball has been hit hard at the North Shore events centre as well, Harbour Basketball chief executive John Hunt said.
"The Harbour and Auckland region are short something like 50 courts," Hunt said.
"When something like this happens you can't replace them."
Two courts could be salvaged and used temporarily but there's at least a year-long wait on replacing the whole wooden floor when the centre usually hosts 500 junior teams a week.
In the same building, North Harbour Gymnastics — who have 2000 kids a week enrolled — was also hit with programmes due to start soon.
"Participation is going to be impacted so there's real consequences for their revenue streams," Jennah Wooten, Aktive Sport and Rec chief executive said.
Cox added they have a similar feeling at Badminton North Harbour.
"The numbers were strong, all going according to plan, we've had our knees cut off," he said.
"I think this will affect us far worse than what Covid did."
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