Sports park to celebrate Ngati Kahungunu

Ngahiwi Tomoana (left) and Rex Graham at the Hawke's Bay Regional Sport Park which will be re-named Kahungunu Park during February. Photo / Paul Taylor.

In celebration of the largest kapa haka festival the Hawke's Bay Regional Sports Park will be renamed Kahungunu Park for the month of February.

The name change is to promote Ngati Kahungunu as the home of the Te Matatini kapa haka Festival.

Hawke's Bay Regional Sports Park chairman Rex Graham said February was going to be a massive month for Ngati Kahungunu so felt it was appropriate to rename the park.

"This is a tribute to the occasion and to the Ngati Kahungunu iwi. The Te Matatini Festival represents a massive week for Hawke's Bay."

Te Matatini is a national kapa haka festival that takes place every two years and draws 2300 performers in 47 teams from around New Zealand.

The festival was last held in 2015 in Christchurch and is coming to the sports park from February 23-26 next year for the first time since 1983.

Ngati Kahungunu chairman Ngahiwi Tomoana said the iwi had never won the event so hoped one of the four teams entered would end the drought.

The festival will be one of the largest cultural events ever hosted in Hawke's Bay with more than 10,000 spectators expected to pour into the region.

"The renaming of the park was a dream come true for the iwi and is huge for our legacy."

The iwi is hosting Te Matatini and Waitangi Day in the same venue so Mr Tomoana said there would be a strong Kahungunu presence throughout February.

"It is an inter-generational event and there has been a whole lot of inspirational growth spurts since we last hosted the event in 1983. We will also have side events and clips ons with the inaugural Kahungunu Festival being held at the same time."

Mr Graham said the park would be full during the festival over the four days.

"The main event takes place in the oval in front of the grandstand and we expect the rest of the park to be taken up with vendor stalls, display marquees, children's play areas and car parking," he said.

Mr Tomoana said the name change fitted well with their national promotional theme where all roads lead to Kahungunu.