However, indoor sporting events will remain without fans for the time being, with indoor gathering limits increased to only 200 at the red light setting.
Fans will now be able to return to indoor sporting events at the orange light setting.
The Government also announced that vaccine passes will no longer be required from Monday April 4.
Here's how the news will impact sports around New Zealand:
Rugby
Fans will be back at Super Rugby Pacific matches from Saturday, meaning the Highlanders v Blues clash at Forsyth Barr Stadium and the Chiefs v Crusaders game at FMG Stadium Waikato will have no gathering limits.
However, both games are still up in the air after multiple teams were hit with Covid-19 outbreaks last week.
The Highlanders are hoping to be able to field a team to face the Blues after being forced to postpone their clash against Moana Pasifika last Friday. The Crusaders are in a similar boat after more than half of their squad tested positive for the virus.
Moana Pasifika's home game at Mount Smart Stadium against the Hurricanes on Friday night narrowly misses out on the new rules, which come into effect on Friday 11.59pm.
The return of fans at stadiums will be a huge financial boost for Super Rugby teams. Highlanders boss Roger Clark revealed last week that the franchise's expected losses – prior to the Government's recent announcement – was in line with the other four New Zealand teams of between $500,000 and $2 million.
New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson said the news had come as a "massive relief" to players and administrators across the sport.
"It's been no secret there's been significant challenges working through Covid since the start of the year and that's impacted all levels of the game," Robinson said.
"We're obviously thrilled for our Super Rugby clubs and delighted for our fans as well, who have also been impacted through this time with the inability to attend games. I'm delighted to think we can have people back in stadiums very quickly, and I know our clubs and our players will be delighted that they can look after the fans."
Robinson said NZR had been working alongside the Government and the appropriate agencies in the last few months, and he was now satisfied the financial struggles of Super Rugby franchises could be alleviated through gate revenue.
"We've certainly shared our views around the challenges in the hope that we might have had some relaxation of the protocols to allow us to move into the space that we're about to," he said. "[We're] just delighted that's come around now at a critical time for the game, especially in our professional ranks so that we're able to see some revenue flow back into the game."
The removal of crowd caps will be especially pleasing ahead of the All Blacks' three-test home series against Ireland, scheduled for July, but Robinson said it was too early to make any arrangements around ticketing.
Rugby league
The Warriors have committed to being based in Australia for the remainder of the NRL season, but will return to play in New Zealand for the first time in over two and a half years in July.
Following the Government's announcement, the Warriors confirmed plans to hold home games this season starting with a match against the Wests Tigers at Mount Smart Stadium on July 3.
The Warriors will also host home matches against Melbourne (July 29), Canterbury Bankstown (August 12) and Gold Coast (September 23).
Cricket
The Women's Cricket World Cup in New Zealand will also be boosted by the announcement, with the White Ferns' final group stage match – and possibly their final game of the tournament – against Pakistan at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Saturday no longer subject to gathering limits.
World Cup CEO Andrea Nelson was delighted restrictions were lifted in time for the knockout stage of the tournament.
"World Cup semis and finals are special occasions that don't come around too often – this is a great way for cricket whānau in Wellington and Christchurch to get out there, get together and be part of something special, no matter who is playing."
The Black Caps' three-match ODI series against the Netherlands beginning on March 29 will also welcome full capacity stadiums, but the one-off T20 clash on Friday will remain restricted.
Football
The Wellington Phoenix could play in New Zealand as early as next month.
Following the Government's announcement, the Phoenix confirmed plans to host games in Wellington and Auckland in April.
Initial preparations are already underway and details will be confirmed once the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) finalises the draw for the remainder of the A-League season.
Phoenix general manager David Dome said: "This is the best possible news as one of the main impediments to bringing the team home has been removed.
"We'd always hoped to play matches in New Zealand this season and now we can work with APL to confirm venues, dates and kick-off times.
"As was the case last year it's very important that our first game back is in Wellington, but it's also important to us that we play in front of our fans and partners in New Zealand's biggest city."
Netball
The ANZ Premiership is the unfortunate league to not receive an immediate boost from the Government's latest announcement, with games played indoors at now a 200-person limit.
Fans would be able to return only once the country moves to the orange-light setting, and Netball NZ chief Jennie Wyllie said that decision was understandable.
"As much as we'd love to have our fans back, we are an indoor venue and it is a different set of circumstances," Wyllie told Newstalk ZB.
"I'm hoping that on April 4th, when the next announcement is made, that we're moving to orange and that means no capacity limits. It's another week of waiting but the light is at the end of the tunnel.
"It's really quite haunting not having our eighth player up in the stands. But we've planned for it so that when the traffic lights do start to shift we're ready to be able to turn on ticketing quite quickly."
