Rugby Park is a

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

venue in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

and the home ground for the

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and

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Re ...

. Rugby Park is located on the corner of Elles Road and Tweed Street. The ground has a regular season capacity of 18,000. It has a safe temporary seating maximum capacity of 20,000 (although it can accommodate up to 30,000 with pitch seating, large grass banks and concreted standing terraces). An agreement with the Invercargill City Council saw surplus land on the ground used to build the city's new Swimming Complex. The pitch was moved geographically towards the main stand, squared off to Rugby field dimensions (originally a quasi-cricket ground), with all weather seating installed. The Pitch itself was also weather proofed with a new high volume drainage system installed. The ground was constructed specifically for rugby, and was opened in April 1908. The main stand was fully rebuilt in 2002 with better player facilities and corporate boxes. Floodlighting towers to full HDMI TV standards were also installed and a purpose build media towner on the terrace side for the Rugby World Cup. Temporary seating was added in 2010 for the 2010 ITM Cup this allowed a crowd of just on 20,000 to attend the first major defence of the

Ranfurly Shield The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challeng ...

against Otago on 7 August, this seating remained in place until the Rugby World Cup games in 2011. Rugby Park is now owned by the Invercargill City Council and managed by Invercargill Venue & Events Management Ltd, the city council's venue management company. The Highlanders play occasionally at Rugby Park drawing large crowds. The

football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

team Spirit FC also play at Rugby Park. In 2017 the venue attracted large crowds for an internationally renowned event - Nitro Circus. Many local events are held at Rugby Park as well such as Relay For Life.

World Cup History

Rugby Park hosted one minor pool game during the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup, Wales verses Canada. In the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

, Rugby Park hosted three pool play games (

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-Scotland and

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-Romania).

References

Rugby union stadiums in New Zealand Rugby World Cup stadiums Sports venues in Invercargill Defunct cricket grounds in New Zealand {{NewZealand-stadium-stub