Waikato Stadium

Waikato Stadium is a major rugby union and soccer venue in Hamilton, New Zealand, with a total capacity, seated and standing, of 26,350, with temporary seating for major fixtures increasing the capacity to over 30,000. The stadium, owned by the Hamilton City Council, hosts two rugby teams and one soccer team:

* The Waikato side in the country’s top domestic rugby competition, the Air New Zealand Cup
* The Chiefs in the Southern Hemisphere Super 14 rugby competition
* Waikato FC, a soccer team in the New Zealand Football Championship

The stadium has also hosted the All Blacks and is an occasional home venue of the Parramatta Eels (NRL) rugby league team.

The stadium was built on the site of Hamilton’s former rugby venue, Rugby Park. In 1996, the city of Hamilton announced plans to replace both Rugby Park and the city’s major cricket venue, Westpac Park, with a single large oval stadium at the Rugby Park site. However, the city had second thoughts upon discovering that it only had commitments for NZD 27 million in funding, far short of the estimated NZD 52 million cost. It then decided instead to rebuild both stadiums on a smaller scale, reducing the total cost to NZD 30 million.

Construction on the new Waikato Stadium began in 2000. The venue was completed in late 2001, and the first match at the new ground was a Super 12 match between the Chiefs and Crusaders on 1 March 2002.

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Waikato Stadium official website
www.allblacks.com
New Zealand Rugby Football Union
wikipedia entry

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