Rugby Park to host Crusaders matches during re-building of AMI stadium - Super Rugby updates
Rugby Park, in Invercargill, has been announced as the new home of the homeless Crusaders until the AMI stadium in Christchurch is re-built.
The Crusaders were left without a stadium by a destructive earthquake, which hit the second largest city of New Zealand, Christchurch, in February this year. Their Super Rugby home matches were shifted to other nearby venues including Nelson and Auckland
after the quake. The Crusaders requested the New Zealand Rugby Union to allocate a new venue for next year and NZRU responded positively.
New Zealand Rugby Union chief executive, Steve Tew, confirmed that new plans are being made for the next Super Rugby season for the Crusaders. Tew said that AMI stadium was damaged to a great extent and it may not be able to host next year’s campaign. The
AMI stadium is also scheduled to host one All Blacks test matches next year which may also be moved to some other venue.
Talking to the media, Stew Tew said that NZRU owns the Crusaders and will help to sort out the issue next year. He added that, "There has been some talk about whether Rugby Park could accommodate the Crusaders, at a pinch, and that is not without its complications.
It is fair to say there is a rugby league ground down in Addington, which I am sure, will come into focus for a possible alternative venue."
Tew further explained that Christchurch is still receiving aftershocks which are a great threat to upcoming matches. He added that, “We had a report prior to the aftershocks a couple of few weeks ago when we were starting to work with the Crusaders and obviously
they had another significant event and there is going to be a whole re-evaluation of what that might have done.”
However the Christchurch City Council has rejected the proposal as they think that move could further delay the reconstruction of AMI stadium. The general manager of the council, Graeme Sole, announced that they oppose NZRU’s decision of relocating the Crusaders
match to Rugby Park. The AMI stadium is on lease to the Christchurch City Council until 2037.
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