Source: Radio New Zealand
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After 14 years, the Crusaders are bidding adieu to their Addington home before packing their bags for Te Kaha.
The team’s Super Rugby Pacific clash against the Fijian Drua on Good Friday marks their final game at Christchurch’s Apollo Projects Stadium.
Home games will then be held at the new $683 million New Zealand Stadium.
The long-awaited 30,000-seat stadium in the central city, also known as Te Kaha, was officially opened last week.
Ahead of the final Super Rugby game at Addington, contractors have reflected on round-the-clock efforts to get the temporary stadium ready for the 2012 Super Rugby competition.
The critical infrastructure assignment was called for after the devastating February 2011 earthquake caused irreparable damage to Lancaster Park.
RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Aotea Electric contracts manager Tim Kennedy said it was a “pretty intense” project.
“Most guys were doing 90-hour weeks, which puts strain on people and families and what not. I know Paul O’Connor from Hawkins did 66 days straight without a day off, and that was pretty common for most of the people that were working [at Addington],” he said.
“Everyone made a point of saying from the start, like, if you don’t think we can deliver this by the date that we need to have the Crusaders here, you know, we’ll find something else for you to do. Because if we didn’t have 100 percent commitment from everyone here, it’s just never going to happen.”
The stadium was built on the old Rugby League Park site which had also sustained earthquake damage.
The hectic schedule forced project managers to be nimble with materials.
The floodlight towers were previously in place at Dunedin’s Carisbrook before it was demolished.
“When we needed lights up here, Carisbrook was being decommissioned,” Kennedy said.
“So they grabbed them from down there, cut the poles up, altered them a wee bit and brought them up.”
Aotea Electric contracts manager Tim Kennedy. RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Chattels from the old Lancaster Park were also recycled for the new stadium, which was originally known as AMI Stadium.
Kennedy said the project was a significant touchstone for him personally.
“There will never be another job like this, unless there’s a natural disaster,” he said.
“Anyone that’s worked on this job talks about it all the time as the shining light in their careers, because to do what we did for a community that was broken, in that amount of time, and for the impact that it had at that time, it’s really, really special.”
In the hours before the first post-earthquake Super Rugby game in Christchurch in March 2012, there were nerves about how the venue’s power system would cope.
The potential problems feared would never materialise.
In the ensuing years the stadium had been home to rugby, football, rugby league, and outdoor concerts.
It had also undergone multiple naming rights changes – AMI Stadium, Orangetheory Stadium and finally Apollo Projects Stadium.
Crusaders players react to the win at the final whistle in the Super Rugby Pacific final. Peter Meecham/www.photosport.nz
Venues Ōtautahi assets and facilities manager Toni Jones said he recalled the reaction of dozens of contractors before kick-off in the Crusaders-Cheetahs game on 24 March 2012.
“The Crusader horsemen went round the park and I turned round, I was standing with about 30 contractors and there were tears of joy down their faces. They were emotionally tired, but it was a phenomenal thing.
“This has been home now for 14 years. It’s not a temporary venue by any means.
“We’ve invested a lot of blood, sweat and tears and some big bucks in here to make it a permanent home.”
The venue was not perfect.
Even some of the Crusaders management staff could attest to this.
Hardy supporters often braved freezing nights at games during the middle of the year.
But on the plus-side for staunch red-and-black supporters, the cold dewy conditions regularly proved to be awkward for teams not acclimatised.
It was a graveyard for visiting teams, with the Crusaders forging an imposing 86 percent winning record across their 14 year tenancy.
The side won all 19 of their playoff matches at the venue, including victory in four finals.
Despite this dominance, Crusaders logistics manager John “Foxy” Miles admitted he was looking forward to warmer conditions
“It’s home, but it’s not your ideal home,” he said.
“The fact it was built in a hundred days is really great and really impressive. And it served a purpose for us over all those years, which was a lot longer than we all thought.
“But to be honest I won’t miss going there.”
RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Friday night’s swansong would also mark 150 Super Rugby games for Crusaders and All Blacks hooker Codie Taylor.
The veteran said on Wednesday, the ground held many special memories for him, including his All Blacks test debut in 2015.
“It’s the only stadium I’ve known that I’ve called home, from my debut right through to this point. It’s a special place, it’s very unique, but it’s special to us as a community down here in Christchurch.
“It’s been a long time coming and it’s been an awesome journey.”
The Wellington Phoenix’s A-League clash with Western Sydney on 18 April will be the final event at the stadium.
The Christchurch City Council is yet to decide on future plans for the site.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
