STADIA
Pete Hayman looks at how a couple of New Zealand’s major event venues have been adapted to host this major sports tournament
in Auckland. The country that co-hosted the inaugural event in 1987 – alongside Australia – has been selected as the sole host for this year’s tournament and is de- termined to put on a good show. It has been anticipated that the event
O
will generate a significant boost for the national economy. In September 2006, or- ganisers revealed that the total economic activity would total more than NZ$1.15bn (£600m), while it was revealed in August 2011 that offshore ticket sales indicated an influx of 95,000 overseas visitors from more than 100 countries is anticipated during the six-week tournament. Martin Snedden, chief executive of-
ficer of Rugby New Zealand 2011 (RNZ 2011), said: “The upsurge in support from overseas fans is a strong sign of confidence in our ability to host the biggest sporting event New Zealand has ever held.” New Zealand’s bid for the tournament
was centred around the philosophy that it would be hosted in a “Stadium of Four Million” and offer an “All Rugby” experi- ence for those involved. One of the core promises set out in the bid was the pro- vision of high-quality facilities and one
n 9 September, New Zealand will play Tonga in the open- ing game of the Rugby World Cup (RWC) 2011 at Eden Park
that left a global legacy for the sport. Regardless of which nation takes home the trophy on 23 October, New Zealand can already boast significantly improved stadia that are breaking boundaries
RECREATING EDEN PARK Rugby World Cup 2011 gives Auckland’s Eden Park the opportunity to make histo- ry. It is to become the first stadium to host the Rugby World Cup Final on two occa- sions, having hosted the showpiece event in 1987. A three-year, NZ$240m (£125.2m) redevelopment has increased its perma- nent capacity to 50,000 – a capacity that will grow further for the tournament to 60,000 with temporary seating. Eden Park Trust sales and marketing
general manager Tracy Morgan believes there is little to compare between the Eden Park of 1987 and the Eden Park of 2011. “The stadium has none of the same infrastructure still in place and the event is unrecognisable in scale,” she says. “The sheer media presence alone which must
be accommodated underlines there is almost nothing related to tournament delivery which can be compared to 1987.” The redevelopment of Eden Park has
included the construction of a new six- level, 21,500-seat South Stand and a new three-tier East Stand. The project has also seen the creation of an internal concourse to allow supporters to flow through the venue. Morgan says this feature is the result of a desire to be re- spectful of its location. “Some of the key changes, such as
the concourse connecting all stands, have been made to bring people into the stadium and off residential streets as quickly as possible,” says Morgan. “The old configuration had 29 gates and meant traversing the streets to find your dedicated gate. There are now four main entry points and any seat can be reached from any of these.” Populous were behind the design of
the new Eden Park, which has Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) incorporated
Three out of the five pool matches to be held in
Christchurch will now be held on the South Island with two to take place at the new Otago Stadium in Dunedin
34 Read Sports Management online
sportsmanagement.co.uk/digital Issue 3 2011 © cybertrek 2011
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