Wellington Regional Stadium
- For the cricket venue in Hamilton, New Zealand, see Westpac Park.
"The Cake Tin" or "The Ring of Fire" | |
 | |
 | |
| Former names | WestpacTrust Stadium |
|---|---|
| Location | Wellington, New Zealand |
| Coordinates | 41°16′22.84″S 174°47′8.91″E / 41.2730111°S 174.7858083°E |
| Owner | Wellington Regional Stadium Trust |
| Operator | Wellington Regional Stadium Trust |
| Capacity | 34,500; ~40,000 with temporary seating |
| Field size | Length (North to South) 235 metres, Width (West to East) 185 metres |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 12 March 1998 |
| Opened | 3 January 2000 |
| Construction cost | $130 million NZD |
| Architect | Architecture Warren & Mahoney Ltd, Bligh Lobb Sports Architecture |
| Project manager | Beca Carter Hollings & Ferner Ltd |
| Main contractors | Fletcher Construction Ltd |
| Tenants | |
| Hurricanes (Super 14) Wellington Rugby Football Union (Air New Zealand Cup) Wellington Firebirds (State Shield) Template:ALeague WP (A-League) University of Otago[1] | |
Westpac Stadium, previously known as WestpacTrust Stadium, is a major sporting venue in Wellington, New Zealand. Due to its shape, it is colloquially known as The Cake-Tin in other parts of New Zealand, although the locals refer to it by either its proper name or simply as The Stadium. Fans of football (soccer) team Template:ALeague WP refer to the stadium as The Ring of Fire. The stadium was built in 1999 by Fletcher Construction[2] and is situated close to major transport facilities (such as Wellington Railway Station) one kilometre north of the CBD. It was built on reclaimed railway land, which was surplus to requirements.
The stadium has a capacity of 34,500 including the corporate boxes; 40,000 with temporary seating. It was built to replace Athletic Park, the city’s old rugby stadium, which had fallen into disrepair and was poorly situated for the demands of modern sport. It has since been redeveloped for residential use.
Facilities
The stadium is a multi-purpose facility, though used mainly for rugby union and one-day cricket. It is the home of the Wellington Air New Zealand Cup and the Hurricanes Super 14 teams and is the home venue for the Template:ALeague WP for A-League games. The stadium has also been used for rugby league matches. Australian rules football exhibition matches were played in 2000 and 2001.
Notable events
In 2000, The Westpac Stadium had the honour of hosting the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. This was the first time the event was hosted outside of Edinburgh, Scotland.
During a cricket match, director Peter Jackson recorded 30,000 fans chanting in Black Speech for the sound of 10,000 chanting Uruk-hai during the Battle of Helm's Deep in the film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
2006 events at the stadium have included a concert by The Rolling Stones which ended the Australasian leg of their A Bigger Bang World Tour, and World Wrestling Entertainment's first ever New Zealand show, part of the WWE Smackdown! Road to Wrestlemania Tour (March 4th).
On October 14 2007, Australia defeated New Zealand 58-0 in the Centenary Test rugby league game.
On December 1 2007, the stadium hosted a game between Wellington Phoenix and Los Angeles Galaxy. The Galaxy win 4-1 in front of 31,853 fans, the largest crowd for a football (soccer) game in New Zealand since 1981.[3]
Gallery
-
Crowds filling in before a Tri Nations match -
The Stadium entrance
-
The stadium during a One Day Cricket match in January 2005.
See also
- Basin Reserve - Wellington's other international cricket ground