The Bay Oval's amenities could be in line for a possible $348,000 cash injection thanks to Tauranga City Council, as venue officials continue to harbour ambitions of developing the venue up to international standards.

Expenditure proposals in Tauranga City Council's long term plan deliberations show council willing to pour the $348,250 figure into the cricketing venue across the next three years, from 2016 to 2019.

An aerial view of the Bay Oval during the 2014 ANZ ODI's between the Blackcaps and South Africa. Photo: Ross Brown.

Outlined in discussions are nine areas set aside for possible council funding, including embankment irrigations, a walkway to connect Maunganui Road to the pavilion and improved vehicle access.

The biggest allocation is a 3m wide concrete perimeter walkway at $100,000, followed by $70,000 for embankment irrigation and $40,500 for installing a pipe and mesh boundary fence to increase security.

The discussions come after the Bay Oval successfully hosted two Blackcaps one-day internationals against South Africa last year, in what was first ever Blackcaps international matches.

Tauranga City Mayor Stuart Crosby says there are two components of the proposed expenditure for the Bay Oval and Blake Park area.

One is the $348,250 as outlined above and a further $62,000 for extra turf maintenance, particularly for the practice wickets at Bay Oval.

'So what we have approved to go into the draft, still subject to final deliberations and public consultation, is the $62,000,” he says.

'We have not yet approved the other infrastructure.”

Bay of Plenty Cricket Trust general manager Kelvin Jones welcomes the possibility of further enhancement of the venue, which has undergone a significant transformation in recent years.

'It is early days in the venues' international career. but the installation of walkways, lighting and irrigation will benefit not only the trust's long term plan, but also things that are of greater benefit to all Blake Park users,” says Kelvin.

Something that ties in with the trust's vision is the installation of international standard lights.

'It's all very well having lights,” adds Kelvin, 'but you need people to be a be able to walk in and out of the ground with egress lighting, pathways and fencing and all of those things that make the park work better.

'We accept the lights and more cricket-specific things are something that we as the Bay Oval Trust should be fundraising for, but those are the sort of things that we are after from council - that enhance the ground and the image of the ground, but also work for other users as well.”

Kelvin says the push for fundraising the $2million required for the lighting isn't lost, but they do face a race against the clock.

But as the ICC Cricket World Cup prepares to begin on New Zealand and Australian soil this week, had the issue of international lighting been resolved earlier, the Bay could have been hosting its own slice of the international showpiece.

The lights could, over time, pave the way for night-time ODIs and test matches.

'We have a window of opportunity with the lights,” says Kelvin. 'NZ Cricket are looking for venues with lights and as part of that they are prepared to guarantee a certain level of cricket if venues have them.

'And if we miss out in the next 12-18 months and aren't able to achieve that we risk missing out long term.

'It's a bit of a window that we need to push hard for.”

Fundraising for the $2m lighting project is expected to begin in the coming months once designs and the project's direction are finalised.