Lions fans give Rotorua stadium thumbs-up

Rotorua International Stadium got a pass-mark from Lions fans - and got left with a mountain of rubbish.

The cleanup is expected to continue today. The ground was littered with plastic beer bottles after a full-house of 31,400 people flooded through the turnstiles.

Lions fans said the venue had a great atmosphere, but felt small compared with grounds at home.

"Whether it would pass the British safety standards, I wouldn't know," said Steve Hall of Leicester.

Operations manager Crispian Stewart said he was pleased with how the stadium coped with the capacity crowd. "By kickoff, no one was at the gates."

Mr Stewart said it helped that the game was a sell-out so there was no queueing for tickets.

The venue and event organisers earned praise from NZ Lions series project manager Nigel Cass. "They really have established a benchmark for the rest of the games to live up to."

But some fans complained about having to wait for up to an hour for free buses to take them back to the centre of town after the game. "They should do women and children first," said Monika Weglarz, 19, of London, as she stood shivering in the crowd.

Mr Stewart said the delays were inevitable with only three main access roads to the stadium.

Many in the British media pack were reportedly furious to find their new New Zealand pre-paid cellphones were useless for much of the match.

Vodafone spokeswoman Leigh Owens said there was "a bit of a glitch" with a portable cell site set up to boost coverage at the venue.