- Sidelines Playbox has been delivered to Birkenhead United Football Club.
- Provides active, creative, and social play for tamariki.
- Part of the Kaipātiki Play Plan 2025, bringing play into everyday spaces.
- More play projects planned across Kaipātiki this year.
- Read the full Play Plan on the main Auckland Council website.
Tamariki and whānau visiting Birkenhead United Football Club now have more ways to play, thanks to a Sidelines Playbox delivered by the Kaipātiki Local Board.
The Sidelines Playbox is part of the board’s Kaipātiki Play Plan 2025, which guides how the Local Board invests in play opportunities beyond traditional playgrounds and into everyday community spaces. The plan reflects the board’s view that play should be an everywhere activity.
Designed to be used before and after games, training sessions, and while families gather on the sidelines, the Sidelines Playbox is filled with easy-to-use games and equipment that encourage movement, creativity, and social play.
“We’re thrilled to receive the Sidelines Playbox from the Kaipātiki Local Board. It’s giving kids new ways to be active, creative, and social while they’re here. Initiatives like this make our community stronger and remind everyone that play isn’t just for the playground. It can happen anywhere,” says Birkenhead United Football Club President William Taylor.
The Kaipātiki Play Plan provides guidance for future investment in play and prioritises low-cost initiatives that can be delivered in shared spaces, nature settings, and through community partnerships. It supports a wide range of playful activations, including pop-up play, nature-based play, playful installations, and Sidelines Playboxes delivered to local sports clubs.
Kaipātiki Local Board Deputy Chair Melanie Kenrick says the Sidelines Playbox shows how the board wants to see play woven into everyday community life.
“The Playbox is all about making our local sports grounds more family-friendly. It provides a safe, engaging space for children to play while their brothers and sisters are out on the field. That simple addition makes a real difference, helping to reduce stress for parents and creating a more relaxed, fun sideline environment for the whole family,” she says.
The Sidelines Playbox is one of several initiatives identified through the Play Plan. Over the coming year, the Local Board will continue working with the community to confirm projects through its annual work programme and deliver more playful opportunities across Kaipātiki.
The plan offers a wide range of options to bring play into local life. These include playful street art and installations, adventurous nature spaces, a beach activation programme, and opportunities for rangatahi climbing at Birkenhead Pool and Leisure Centre. Together, these initiatives help ensure play is not confined to playgrounds, but can happen in parks, community spaces, and sports fields throughout Kaipātiki.
To read the full Kaipātiki Play Plan 2025 and learn more about the board’s play vision and project ideas, visit the Kaipātiki Play Plan.