Editorial: Applause for our park's world class makeover

Eden Park will host the Rugby World Cup Opening Ceremony an hour before the opening game on September 9. Photo / Richard Robinson

Opinion

New Zealanders have good reason to feel jaundiced about infrastructure projects. Late completion and cost blowouts have too often been the order of the day.

It is only right, therefore, to hail the completion of Eden Park's redevelopment. On Sunday, the upgraded arena will be officially opened by the Prime Minister.

The scheduled completion date has been met with weeks to spare, and, as planned, the facilities will be available for one full season before they become the centrepiece of the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

As finishing touches were being applied to Eden Park this week, thousands of workers were scrambling around New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium to get the running track ready for competition.

India's many problems in developing facilities for the Commonwealth Games have attracted international derision.

New Zealand would have been equally embarrassed if its stadium projects, particularly at Eden Park, had been dogged by similar problems.

Doubts about the location of the country's premier sporting arena will persist, but the $250 million spent on Eden Park has delivered a world-class stadium, complete with a new six-level 21,500-seat South Stand.

Obvious care has gone into the design, not least in the western concourse and in features that ensure the turf gets its share of sunlight.

It will be a revelation for those who attend Sunday's open day - and for the millions of people who thrill to rugby, cricket and other forms of entertainment there over the coming years.