Lancaster Park

Stadium name	AMI Stadium
Nickname	Lancaster Park
Logo image
Caption	Aerial view of the then Jade Stadium in December 2005
Former names	Lancaster Park (1881-1998)Jade Stadium (1998-2007)
Location	Christchurch, New Zealand
Coordinates
Opened	1881
Expanded	2009
Operator	VBase Venue management
Surface	Grass
Seating capacity	38,628
Tenants	Crusaders (Super Rugby) (1996-present)Canterbury (ITM Cup

Lancaster Park, formerly Jade Stadium and currently known as AMI Stadium due to sponsorship rights, is a sports stadium situated in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The stadium is currently out of action due to the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Seven World Cup matches scheduled for the stadium in September are to be moved to other venues in New Zealand as organisers are unsure whether the stadium will be repaired in time.

It has hosted various sports, including rugby union, cricket, association football, athletics, trotting (until, in 1899, this club moved to Addington Racecourse), rugby league, and non-sporting events such as concerts by Bon Jovi in 2008, Roger Waters in 2006, AC/DC in 1996, U2 in 1989 & 1993 and Billy Joel in 1987, but is primarily a rugby and cricket ground and is the home of the Crusaders rugby union team, who compete in Super Rugby. Its current capacity is 38,628. For Stevens, this was a transaction through his company, Harman and Stevens, on behalf of an absentee owner, Benjamin Lancaster. Canterbury Cricket and Athletics Sports purchased 10 acres 3 rods 30 perches (4.426 hectares) for £2,841 at £260 per acre (NZ$ 1284.95/hectare). In 1904 Canterbury cricket would became the sole owner of the ground. Then in 1911 the Canterbury Rugby Union became co-owners with the Canterbury Cricket Association over the ground. An Act of Parliament in November 1919 vested title to Lancaster Park in the Crown, and established the Victory Park Board to take responsibility for its management.

JADE Stadium Limited was established in December 1998 to manage the existing facilities on behalf of the Victory Park Board and the Christchurch City Council. A five-member board of directors, drawn from Christchurch’s business community and the Christchurch City Council, governs the company.

Official opening

In 1881 the first cricket match to be played on the ground was scheduled for the opening on 8 October, but it was cancelled due to rain. An athletics meeting became the first event held on the ground, on 15 October.

Expansion

The embankment was expanded in 1957, increasing the capacity to 33,000. Two new stands were opened in 1965 further increasing the capacity to 38,500. In 1995 the Hadlee Stand opened in tribute to the successful cricketing family which came from Canterbury. 2000 saw the destruction of the embankment and No. 4 stand and the opening of the DB Draught stand (renamed the Tui stand in 2006) and the Paul Kelly Motor Company Stand (West Stand).

As part of a $60 million redevelopment for the 2011 Rugby World Cup the Eastern Stands (No. 1, 2 and 3 stands) were demolished and replaced with the new Deans Stand. The Stand was designed to reflect the newly completed Western Stand. The total capacity is 38,000 and to be raised to 38,628 with temporary seating for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, making it the second largest stadium in New Zealand after Eden Park.

Deans Stand

On Tuesday April 22, 2008 a press release was issued announcing that the new East Stand, built to replace Stands demolished in 2007, as part of a redevlopement of the Ground, was to be named the Deans Stand when it is officially opened in January 2010. The Deans Stand has a seating capacity of 13,000.

The Deans name has been a part of rugby at the stadium for more than a century. Bob Deans was an All Black and also captained the Canterbury rugby team, Bruce and Robbie Deans were both All Blacks and members of the Canterbury team with Robbie also coaching the Crusaders, Bob's brother Colin played rugby at the ground, Bruce & Robbie's father Tony played cricket on the ground, and in the sixth generation of the family Milly Deans is a member of the Canterbury women's rugby team. The name Deans is also the family name of the first successful settlers in the city with brothers John and William Deans building their house in 1843.

Financial difficulty

In 1912 a Floral Fete, a festival, was held to raise funds to clear the debt of £2,000 in order to prevent the ground being cut up into building sites.

The financial difficulty the ground faced was so great that during New Zealand's involvement in World War I in 1915 the main oval at Lancaster Park was ploughed up and was used as a potato field in an attempt to raise more revenue.

Rugby union

2011 Rugby World Cup

The Stadium was scheduled to host five pool matches and two quarter finals at the 2011 Rugby World Cup and will be referred to as Stadium Christchurch due to the IRB's advertising rules at venues for the Rugby World Cup.

During the debate surrounding Auckland's stadium for RWC 2011, RWC Minister Trevor Mallard said that Lancaster Park would be the main cup venue if Auckland could not decide which of its stadiums it would prefer (see Stadium New Zealand). Eden Park was eventually chosen as Auckland's preferred stadium and the main venue for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Due to damage suffered from the earthquake that hit Christchurch and surrounding areas on the 22 February 2011 it was announced that Christchurch would lose its rights to host the seven world cup games.

Super Rugby

AMI Stadium is home to the Crusaders Super Rugby franchise. The Crusaders play most of their home games at AMI Stadium. They have hosted four Super 12/Super 14 finals in 2002, 2005, 2006 and in 2008.

NPC/ITM Cup

The stadium is home to the Canterbury team in the ITM Cup (formerly the National Provincial Championship, or NPC and Air New Zealand Cup), who have been very successful in this competition, winning the three most recent competitions (2008, 2009, 2010).

Ranfurly Shield

Canterbury have a proud Ranfurly Shield history. One of their most memorable moments was when they successfully retained the Ranfurly Shield against Waikato in 1954 with a last minute try. The conversion was never taken as the crowd rushed the field before the game could be completed.

Cricket

Cricket has long been played at Lancaster Park. It was the first game to be played in this stadium and in fact, Lancaster Park was originally a cricket stadium. Day/night cricket was made possible after the lighting towers were added in 1996 - the first in a major New Zealand stadium. These were first put to use in 1997 when New Zealand played England in front of a crowd of 25,000.

Lancaster Park is likely to be selected as a venue for the ICC 2015 Cricket World Cup which is to be held in Australia and New Zealand.

Rugby League

Lancaster Park has served over years as a 'home away from home' stadium for teams in the Australasian NRL competition, such as the Wests Tigers, as despite the name of the team New Zealand Warriors insinuating AMI Stadium is part of their franchise base, this team is based at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland.

In 2010 the Sydney Roosters took a home game to this stadium, but they lost 20-18 to the Warriors.

Soccer

Lancaster Park hosted an Hyundai A-League match between Wellington Phoenix FC and Adelaide United on 30 January 2010. The match attracted 19,276 which was, at the time, a record home league attendance for the Wellington team, prompting suggestions Christchurch may be able to sustain an A-League team of its own.

In the next A-League season the stadium was used again, for the same opponents encounter on 5 December 2010. A 20,108 crowd was the season-best record for Phoenix.

Religious events

In 1954 Lancaster Park held a Roman Catholic prayer rally. This drew a large attendance. Pope John Paul II also held a public mass on the oval in 1986, attracting 28,000 people.

See also

List of Test cricket grounds

List of international cricket centuries at Lancaster Park

References

External links

AMI Stadium Official Site

Category:Rugby union stadiums in New Zealand Category:Geography of the Canterbury Region Category:Buildings and structures in Christchurch Category:Test cricket grounds in New Zealand Category:Rugby league stadiums in New Zealand Category:Rugby World Cup stadiums Category:Sports venues in Christchurch Category:1881 establishments in New Zealand Category:2011 Christchurch earthquake