Editorial: An enhanced Eden Park could be boost for rugby generally

Eden Park would become the centrepiece of a national and regional stadium strategy. Image / Eden Park Trust

The sight of the Chiefs impressively putting the Crusaders away on Saturday before a sold-out, fizzing crowd at a regular-season Super Rugby Pacific game was a boost for the competition.

Contests outside of Super Rugby finals and test matches rarely attract full houses - the clash in Hamilton before href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/chiefs-v-crusaders-damian-mckenzie-inspires-leaders-to-vital-victory/4OQWP55TBRETNH47CWORCJNE5I/" target="_blank">23,000 people cheering on their team’s winning streak was an exception. These fans are fired up, knowing the Chiefs are the team to beat.

This was a mouth-watering clash on the field between title contenders loaded with top talent that the big crowd turned into an occasion.

There are different factors as to why regular rugby often underperforms with the public. For instance, the fixtures may not hold great interest and people have more calls on their time.

One thing that’s often missing is the atmosphere of it being a big day out. The enjoyment of large numbers of fans in the stands adds to the experience of watching remotely.

Attending a game has to tick more boxes than watching it from your comfy chair at home. But the sport in 2023 still often asks many of the customers in its audience to sit in their raincoats and beanies in the wet and cold at night.

Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr stadium, opened in 2011, is still the only major venue to be fully enclosed. The planned Te Kaha stadium in Christchurch will also have a roof.

The proposal of an upgraded Eden Park in Auckland with extra capacity and a retractable roof is promising because it would improve fans’ experiences.

It’s not hard to see the potential for enhanced sports fixtures, but also big-name concerts. Auckland has established train and bus links to Eden Park in its favour.

A revised proposal for an enclosed waterfront stadium is also reportedly on the way.

Fears of price tags and financial blow-outs are valid and there’s always other ways to spend large sums of money. If one of the other city stadiums is not required, its area could be used for housing.

The basic idea is simple - that investment to create an atmosphere and event to remember will spur a habit of demand to experience it. That in turn brings economic benefits to Auckland.

The idea of planned investment and having systemic ways of better resourcing it is at the heart of the current tax debate. If we want improvements in society, it will cost. The cost of doing nothing is decay.

Great cities such as Melbourne and Sydney have extensive public transportation options and infrastructure to host major sporting and entertainment events. Auckland’s facilities don’t match up, in comparison.

In Australia, the government said at the weekend that it would put A$240 million ($257m) towards building a new waterfront covered stadium in Hobart. Tasmania’s new 23,000-seat multi-use venue at Macquarie Point, that will be the base for an AFL team, will cost at least A$715m ($765m). The project, which is inspired by the long-delayed Te Kaha build, has set off arguments in Tasmania about public transport to the area and housing needs.

Eden Park Trust chairman Doug McKay has a logical point: “New Zealand must have a 55,000 to 60,000-person stadium to realise the ambitions we have as a country to host global events... without it, you cannot secure these days a Rugby World Cup.“

With New Zealand’s proud history in rugby, it should be a future aim to host a World Cup again.