Rotorua International 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 ...

located on Devon Street West in the Westbrook suburb of

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It is currently used mostly for

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

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 ...

matches, being one of three home stadiums for the

Bay of Plenty Rugby Union The Bay of Plenty Rugby Union (''also referred to as "Bay of Plenty" or "BOPRU"'') is the governing body for rugby union in a portion of the Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand. Its colours are dark blue and yellow in a hooped design. The BOP ...

(the others being

Baypark Stadium Trustpower Baypark Stadium (formerly known as ASB Baypark Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand. It is currently used for dirt track Speedway and jetsprints events during summer, and various other events throughou ...

and

Tauranga Domain Tauranga Domain is a park and sports stadium in Tauranga, New Zealand. It is used mainly for rugby union matches and serves as a home ground for the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union. The origins of the park go back to 1873, when Tauranga residents app ...

Tauranga Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...

). In addition, a softball field is sited at the northern end. The stadium has a capacity of 26,000 people. The stadium was originally built in 1911, and renovated several times since. The stadium features a covered stand seating up to 5,000 with a concrete seating area on the western side of the field. In

the stadium has been used for the

1987 Rugby World Cup The 1987 Rugby World Cup was the first Rugby World Cup. It was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia – New Zealand hosted 21 matches (17 pool stage matches, two quarter-finals, the third-place play-off and the final) while Australia hosted 11 ...

3rd/4th playoff, Test matches and

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

tours matches. To many it is considered the rightful home of

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runawa ...

rugby, despite the recent majority of home matches being scheduled in

. Rotorua International Stadium has hosted four

Test matches. The first, held on 16 July 1989 saw the

Wally Lewis Walter James Lewis AM (born 1 December 1959) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1980s and 1990s. He became a commentator for television coverage of the spo ...

led

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Australians, several (or all) ...

defeat

8–0 in front of 26,000 fans. The second Test was held seven years later when New Zealand defeated

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

62–8 in front of only 4,800 fans on 5 October 1996. The last rugby league international held at the venue as of 2020 was when the Kiwis defeated the PNG Kumuls 76–12 in front of 6,000 fans. This match was played as part of the

2010 Rugby League Four Nations The 2010 Rugby League Four Nations tournament was played in Australia and New Zealand in October and November 2010. The tournament was the second time the Four Nations had been held, following on from the 2009 edition held in England and France. ...

tournament. The stadium hosted three matches of 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 ...

. The first game on 10 September saw

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 ...

defeat

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

49–25 in front of 10,100. Game two saw

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

defeat Namibia 49–12 in front of 12,752 fans, while the final game at the stadium saw

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

defeat

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

62–12 in front of 25,661 fans. In 2023 the stadium will host the annual NRL pre season NRL All Stars match

Rugby league test matches

List of rugby league test and

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

matches played at Rotorua International Stadium.

References

External links

* {{Super Rugby stadiums Rugby union stadiums in New Zealand Rugby league stadiums in New Zealand Rugby World Cup stadiums Buildings and structures in Rotorua Sport in Rotorua Multi-purpose stadiums in New Zealand Softball venues in New Zealand Sports venues in the Bay of Plenty Region 1910s architecture in New Zealand