Featured image credit: Taranaki Regional Council
Stadium Taranaki will reopen on May 4 with a free celebration event to mark the culmination of a long-running redevelopment project.
The stadium is located in New Plymouth, New Zealand and was formerly known as Yarrow Stadium. It suffered significant damage during the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake and has been undergoing renovation work since 2019.
The May 4 event will see the new-look East Stand open for the public, and will also include food trucks, live music, face painting, lawn games, and other activities on the pitch and around the stadium.
The celebration event will run from 9:30am to 12:30pm and will be followed by two free Central Football matches, which will kick off at 12:30pm and 2:45pm.
The stadium is owned by Taranaki Regional Council. Craig Williamson, council chair, said the upgrade has been the single biggest infrastructure project the organisation has ever been involved with.
The old capacity of the stadium was 25,000. The new facility has a capacity of between 22,000 and 23,000, but there is scalability to expand this to the old capacity for major events. The new East Stand is closer to the main pitch and is double-sided, enabling spectators to watch two different fields.
The council has worked with the Ngāti Te Whiti indigenous people on the design of the new stand, with many cultural elements incorporated in the facility.
The final budget for the stadium redevelopment was NZ$79.7m (£34.7m/€40.5m/$44.2m), with the final cost of the project expected to be under this. The total contribution by Taranaki ratepayers remains under NZ$50m, the same amount approved in 2019.
The council secured NZ$30m in funding from the government’s Infrastructure Reference Group Fund to support the project.
Mike Nield, the council’s director of corporate services, said: “This has been a massive project and we’re absolutely delighted to have delivered what we think is now the best regional stadium in the country and a venue the whole of the Taranaki community can be proud of.
“We’d love to see people at the celebration event where there’s a chance to check out the work for yourself with a tour of the East Stand and enjoy what will be a great day out at the region’s premier sports venue. I’m sure there are many, many people out there who want to see the new stand and have been eagerly anticipating the completion of the work on the East Stand. We’d also like to say a huge thank you to those living nearby for their patience during the construction phases.”
Before the earthquake, Stadium Taranaki served as a home venue for the Super Rugby’s Chiefs. It was also a host venue during the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
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