Source: Radio New Zealand
One NZ Stadium Christchurch. Christchurch City Council
With the opening of One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch just weeks away, the Crusaders are facing a significant shift – leaving behind a proven home fortress and adapting to life under a roof.
While always intended as a temporary base, Apollo Projects Stadium has been a very happy hunting ground for them – they are four from four in finals at the venue, and have an impressive regular season record.
While the move to a new, modern venue marks an exciting step forward for the franchise, the shift indoors also brings uncertainty, with the Crusaders set to lose the cold and unpredictable conditions that have often worked in their favour at home.
Former All Blacks and Highlanders first-five Lima Sopoaga is well placed to assess the impact of a move to a roofed stadium.
Sopoaga played in the Highlanders’ final season at Carisbrook in 2011, and their first at Forsyth Barr in 2012, later helping the side to their 2015 title.
He said the move changed how visiting teams approached games in the south.
“Usually when you come down south, it’s cold and it’s grim and you’re like, ‘oh, rugby’s going to be hard today’, but no matter how cold or grim it is outside, you know you’re going to have near perfect conditions on the inside.”
But Sopoaga said the roof also worked in the Highlanders favour in another way.
“We were able to build a really cool fan base from it.
“I really found it helped us because more people came to the games and then in essence you got more energy out of the games and the crowd was a factor. When you’re playing tight matches they’d really get in behind you. I really enjoyed it.
“We actually got bands and students coming to the game because it wasn’t so cold.”
As a goalkicker, Sopoaga said he loved the conditions at Forsyth Barr, but expectations went up when the team moved.
“It can work against you because then you’re expected to not miss.
“You can’t say, ‘oh, there was a wind or the ball was wet’, so you’ve got to be deadly accurate.”
Sopoaga believed the Crusaders may face a similar shift, with visiting teams likely to embrace the conditions.
“They’ll still get to work and do what the Crusaders do, because they’re such a fantastic franchise.
“But now teams can go down there in the middle of winter and be like, ‘oh, let’s have it, let’s throw the ball around’”.
Sopoaga said this change will suit attacking teams like the Chiefs and the Blues (who only won once at Apollo Projects stadium in 16 matches).
Crusaders embracing new era
Crusaders assistant coach James Marshall said the squad is eager for the move.
“Obviously we’ve got a good record in Apollo Projects, but I think everyone’s pretty happy to get to the new stadium.”
Marshall also suggested the move will benefit the fans, and said there was a feeling of excitement across the city with the new stadium set to open.
“It’s going to be an absolute game changer for not only us, but for Christchurch and the fans not having to sit in the cold, wet nights.”
Crusaders assistant coach James Marshall said the move is exciting for attacking rugby. RNZ / Nate McKinnon
But Marshall said it’s not just the fans who are happy about the move.
“I’ve spoken to coaches from other teams, players from other teams, they have all mentioned that same thing, glad they’re not having to come down in the winter months and play at Apollo Projects.”
The challenge now is how the Crusaders establish the same home dominance under a roof.
Marshall believes the team needs to find something else for opposition teams to fear, and with dry conditions all season long, Marshall is excited at the prospect of the team’s attacking play reaching a new level.
“We’re coming in with no record at the moment, but I back our team’s skill set under the roof to be as good as anyone.
“We can go in with a lot more of an attacking mindset into those big games and really back the boys’ skill set and hopefully fitness that will make other teams fear that side of us.”
Lima Sopoaga has the most points for the Highlanders. PHOTOSPORT
Roofed stadiums in other sports
Overseas, roofed stadiums offer mixed evidence on home advantage.
A study from 2014 found that NFL teams who play in domed stadiums (stadiums with a roof), had a similar home winning record to outdoor teams, but won significantly fewer games away from home.
Of the 52 teams who have made the Super Bowl since 1999, only nine are from domed home venues, and only three have won the Super Bowl (1999 St Louis Rams, 2007 Indianapolis Colts, and the 2010 New Orleans Saints).
Closer to home, a number of teams in the AFL share the retractable roofed Docklands Stadium as their home ground.
While the roof is ‘retractable’, the majority of games at the stadium are now played with the roof shut.
Carlton, Essendon, St Kilda, Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne share the stadium, and only Essendon in 2000 and the Western Bulldogs in 2016 have won the Grand Final (which is always played outdoors at the MCG).
The trend suggests that while roofed venues offer certainty, they do not guarantee dominance – leaving the Crusaders to forge their own advantage in Christchurch’s new era.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
