The HFC Bank Stadium ( formally known as ANZ Stadium) is a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy tha ...

Suva Suva () is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Divi ...

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

. HFC Stadium is used primarily for

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

matches, and features a track as well as a pitch suitable for worldwide competition. It has undercover seating for 4,000 spectators, and concrete and grass embankments that increase the capacity to 15,000 people.

Construction and renovations

Originally called Buckhurst Park, the stadium was constructed in 1951 on sixteen hectares of land given by William H. B. Buckhurst in 1948. The stadium was first renovated in 1978–1979 for the Sixth South Pacific Games. Work commenced in April 1978 with the demolition of the grandstand, which had lost its roof during Hurricane Bebe. The stadium was renamed National Stadium upon reopening in 1979. A second renovation took place in 2012, sponsored by ANZ Fiji, Fiji's largest bank, at a cost of FJD $17.5 million. The stadium reopened in March 2013, with a rugby union game between the Fiji national team and

Classic All Blacks The Classic All Blacks is a rugby union team made up of former New Zealand Rugby (Men's) representatives. It is not an official national team of New Zealand. First put together in 2007, the team has played Japan three times, English Premiership ...

. In June 2022, the

Fiji Sports Council The Fiji Sports Council is an organisation that is the custodian of all Fiji Government owned Sporting Facilities around the country. Fiji Sports Council is tasked to manage, maintain and upkeep all facilities under its area of responsibilities. ...

announced HFC Bank as the new naming right sponsor of the stadium with the new name designated as HFC Bank Stadium.

Buckhurst and Bidesi Parks

The 2012–2013 renovation also included the park and playing grounds behind the HFC Bank Stadium, which are known as Bidesi Park and Buckhurst Park, retaining the stadium's original name. The Buckhurst and Bidesi grounds include three pitches primarily used for training and competition in rugby league, rugby union, football, and cricket, and a small stadium and synthetic training track. Buckhurst Park was the site of the National Baseball Diamond used in the 2003 South Pacific Games.

References

External links

{{World Rugby Sevens Series venues Fiji national rugby union team Athletics (track and field) venues in Fiji Football venues in Fiji Rugby league stadiums in Fiji Rugby union stadiums in Fiji Indoor arenas in Fiji

Multi-purpose stadiums in Fiji Sports venues completed in 1951 Sports venues completed in 1979 Sports venues completed in 2013 World Rugby Sevens Series venues Buildings and structures in Suva Sport in Suva Fijian Drua

Construction and renovations

Buckhurst and Bidesi Parks

See also

References

External links