Jade Stadium

Jade Stadium, formerly known as Lancaster Park is a sports stadium situated in Christchurch, New Zealand. It has hosted various sports, including rugby union, rugby league, cricket, soccer, athletics, trotting (until in 1899 this club moved to Addington Racecourse), and non-sporting events such as concerts by U2 in 1989 and Billy Joel in 1987.

It is, however, primarily a rugby and cricket ground. Its current capacity is 36,500 and is the home of the Crusaders rugby union team, who compete in the Super 14.

1998 saw Jade Stadium become the new name of Lancaster Park after naming rights were sold to the Jade Software Corporation Limited (makers of the JADE programming language).

Ownership

In 1880 Canterbury Cricket and Athletics Sports Co. Ltd was established. The company then purchased 10 acres, 3 rods 30 perches (43,642 m²) of the Lancaster Estate for £2,841 at £260 per acre (£642.47/km²). In 1904 Canterbury cricket would became the sole owner of the ground. Then in 1911 the Canterbury Rugby Union became co-owners with the Canterbury Cricket Association over the ground. An Act of Parliament in November 1919 vested title to Lancaster Park in the Crown, and established the Victory Park Board to take responsibility for its management.

JADE Stadium Limited was established in December 1998 to manage the existing facilities on behalf of the Victory Park Board and the Christchurch City Council. A five-member board of directors, drawn from Christchurch`s business community and the Christchurch City Council, governs the company.

Official opening

In 1881 the first cricket match to be played on the ground was scheduled for the opening on 8th October, but it was cancelled due to rain. An athletics meeting became the first event held on the ground, on 15th October.

Expansion

The embankment was expanded in 1957, increasing the capacity to 33,000. Two new stands were opened in 1965 further increasing the capacity to 38,500. In 1995 the Hadlee Stand opened in tribute to the successful cricketing family which came from Canterbury. 2000 saw the destruction of the embankment and No. 4 stand and the opening of the DB Draught stand (renamed the Tui stand in 2006) and the Paul Kelly Motor Company Stand (West Stand).

Before the 2011 Rugby World Cup the Eastern Stands (No. 1, 2 and 3 stands) will be demolished and replaced with a new stand in the same design of the newly completed Western Stand. The total capacity is expected to be raised to 43,000, making it the second largest stadium in New Zealand, after Eden Park, which is planned to hold 60,000 after similar upgrades.

Rugby union

Jade Stadium is home to the Crusaders Super 14 franchise and the Canterbury team in the Air New Zealand Cup (formerly the National Provincial Championship, or NPC), both of which have been very successful in their respective competitions. The Crusaders do not play all of their home games at Jade Stadium, however, because the franchise draws players from several unions on the South Island that compete in the Air New Zealand Cup and the NPC’s other successor, the Heartland Championship. The team plays one game annually at Trafalgar Park in Nelson or at Alpine Energy Stadium in Timaru.

Canterbury successfully retained the Ranfurly Shield against Waikato in 1954 with a last minute try. The conversion was never taken as the crowd rushed the field before the game could be completed.

Cricket

Cricket has long been played at Jade Stadium. Day/night cricket was made possible after the lighting towers were added in 1996 – the first in a major New Zealand stadium. These were put to use in 1997 when New Zealand played England in front of a crowd of 25,000.

Rugby League

Jade Stadium has served over years as a ‘home away from home’ stadium for teams in the Australasian NRL competition, such as the Wests Tigers, as despite the name of the team New Zealand Warriors insinuating Jade Stadium is part of their franchise base, this team is based at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland.

(source .. wikipedia) reproduced under GFDL

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

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