Westpac Stadium

Infobox_Stadium
stadium_name = Westpac Stadium
nickname = "The Cake Tin" or "The Ring of Fire"


location = Wellington, New Zealand
coordinates = coord|41|16|22.84|S|174|47|8.91|E|region:NZ_type:landmark
broke_ground = 12 March 1998
opened = 3 January 2000
dimensions = Length (North to South) 235 metres,
Width (West to East) 185 metres
owner = Wellington Regional Stadium Trust
operator = Wellington Regional Stadium Trust
surface = Grass
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
former_names = WestpacTrust Stadium
tenants = Hurricanes (Super 14)
Wellington Lions (Air New Zealand Cup)
Wellington Firebirds (NZC)
ALeague WP (A-League)
University of Otago [ [http://www.otago.ac.nz/stadiumcentre/ University of Otago Stadium Centre Wellington ] ]
seating_capacity = 34,500; ~40,000 with temporary seating

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 ALeague WP refer to the stadium as "The Ring of Fire". The stadium was built in 1999 by Fletcher Construction [ [http://www.fletcherbuilding.co.nz/about/DivisionPage.aspx?DivisionID=35 Fletcher Construction website] ] 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 [ [http://www.westpacstadium.co.nz/key-facts/ www.westpacstadium.co.nz] ] ; 40,000 with temporary seating. It was built to replace Athletic Park, which was no longer considered adequate for international events due to location and its state of disrepair. It was also built to provide a larger-capacity venue for One Day International cricket events, due to the Basin Reserve ground losing such matches to larger stadiums in other parts of the country.

The stadium also serves as a large-capacity venue for concerts, including the annual "Rock2Wgtn" music festival.

Facilities

The stadium is a multi-purpose facility, though used mainly for rugby union. It is the home of the Wellington Lions Air New Zealand Cup and the Hurricanes Super 14 teams, and also hosts the NZI International Sevens, one of the events in the annual IRB Sevens World Series for national rugby sevens teams. It is also the home venue for A-League football team Wellington Phoenix FC. The stadium has also been used for rugby league matches. Australian rules football exhibition matches were played in 2000 and 2001.

Off-field facilities built into the stadium also included the Stadium Centre of University of Otago, and a campus for the Wellington School of Cricket, run by the Wellington Cricket Association.

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 "".

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 in the Centenary Test rugby league game. The 58-0 defeat set a new record for the largest loss by the "New Zealand national rugby league team".

On December 1 2007, the stadium hosted an exhibition match between Wellington Phoenix FC and Los Angeles Galaxy. The Galaxy won 4-1 in front of 31,853 fans, the largest crowd for a football match in New Zealand history. [ [http://www.infonews.co.nz/news.cfm?l=1&t=28&id=10487 Topless Beckham delights female fans at Phoenix party | infonews.co.nz New Zealand's local news community ] ]

The stadium hosted the inaugural two day "Rock2Wgtn" music festival over Easter 2008, headlined by Kiss and Ozzy Osbourne. Attendance over the 2 days was around 50,000. [ [http://www.stuff.co.nz/4452632a1860.html Rock promoter blames Easter laws for loss] ]

With New Zealand as the host of the 2008 FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup, Westpac Stadium will host six pool matches and two playoff matches. Due to FIFA rules disallowing host stadiums to be named after non-FIFA sponsors, the stadium will officially be known as "Wellington Stadium" during the event.

Gallery

ee also

*Basin Reserve - Wellington's other international cricket ground
*List of All Black Tests at Westpac Stadium

References

External links

* [http://www.westpacstadium.co.nz/ Official website]
* [http://www.cricinfo.com/link_to_database/GROUNDS/NZ/WELLINGTON/WESTPAC_STADIUM_01166/ Cricinfo Westpac Stadium page]
*Austadiums|136