Queen Elizabeth II Park was a multi-use stadium in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

, New Zealand, located in a large park of the same name. The stadium had a capacity of 25,000 people and was built in 1973 to host the 1974 British Commonwealth Games, with a temporary 10,000 seat western stand erected for that event to take the capacity to 35,000. The stadium suffered some damage in the September

2010 Canterbury earthquake The 2010 Canterbury earthquake (also known as the Darfield earthquake) struck the South Island of New Zealand with a moment magnitude of 7.1 at on , and had a maximum perceived intensity of X (''Extreme'') on the Mercalli intensity scale. Som ...

but was able to reopen, only to be damaged beyond repair in February

2011 Christchurch earthquake A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. local time (23:51 UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the entire of the Canterbury region in the South Island, centred south-east ...

. The park is now home to two schools: Avonside Girls' and Shirley Boys' and Taiora QEII Recreation and Sport Centre – all newly built since the earthquakes.

Description

The facilities are situated in a large park called Queen Elizabeth II Park; the overall land area is . Queen Elizabeth II contained a running track, as well as a public swimming and diving pool. There is also a cricket ground, behind the main complex, called "The

Village Green A village green is a common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for gathering cattle t ...

", which was the home of the district's

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...

team, the

Canterbury Wizards Canterbury is a first-class cricket team based in Canterbury, New Zealand. It is one of six teams that compete in senior New Zealand Cricket competitions and has been the second most successful domestic team in New Zealand history. They compet ...

. A golf course takes up with north-east corner of Queen Elizabeth II Park. QEII stadium was designed and built for the 1974 Commonwealth Games. The lead architect was

Peter Beaven Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a s ...

from Beaven, Hunt and Associates. The principal consultant for the stadium design was civil engineer Bill Lovell-Smith of Lovell-Smith & Cusiel. A fun park was located adjacent to the pool between the 1980s and early 2000s. The park consisted of Drive World a mini street where visitors could ride mini bikes or mini vehicles around the streets, a mini golf course, a maze, five lane super slide and for a time a mini roller coaster.

History

The stadium hosted many local and international events, including concerts by many famous artists, such as

The Eagles The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles and six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s ...

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Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted m ...

and

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

, Neil Diamond,

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

and

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk ...

. On 29 November 1978, it hosted a concert of

as part of his

Isolar II – The 1978 World Tour The Isolar II – The 1978 World Tour, more commonly known as The Low / Heroes World Tour or The Stage Tour,Nicholas Pegg, ''The Complete David Bowie'', Reynolds & Hearn Ltd, 2004, was a worldwide concert tour by David Bowie. The tour opened on ...

. The venue was also the site of the last concert by

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in 1984, apart from their brief reformation for their induction into the

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in 2002. For many years it was the venue for the Christchurch Kids Weet-Bix

triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the ...

, and for athletics and football matches. It was one of venues to host the 2008 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup and was used as the main stadium for the

2011 IPC Athletics World Championships The 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships was held in Christchurch, New Zealand from January 21 to 30, 2011. Athletes with a disability competed, and the Championships was a qualifying event for the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Ove1000 athlet ...

after repairs from the 2010 earthquake had cleared the facility for use. Greyhound racing was held at the stadium, with the first meeting there on 29 December 1975. The last meeting at QEII was held on 9 October 1997. The

Christchurch City Council The Christchurch City Council is the local government authority for Christchurch in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Christchurch. Since October 2022, the Mayor of Christchurch is Phil Mauger, wh ...

had launched a feasibility study into returning the Commonwealth Games to the city in 2018 with QEII Park to be used for

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

and

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

events – with

Lancaster Park Lancaster Park, also known as Jade Stadium and AMI Stadium for sponsorship reasons, was a sports stadium in Waltham, a suburb of Christchurch in New Zealand. The stadium was closed permanently due to damage sustained in the February 2011 eart ...

to be used for rugby sevens as well as the opening and closing ceremonies. Prime Minister

John Key Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 2006 to 2016. After resigning from bo ...

was against the plan, and the February 2011 earthquake ended any prospect.

Rugby league

The stadium has hosted two rugby league internationals involving

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 ...

. Notable games at the stadium include:

Gallery

File:NZvMalLineup1.JPG, New Zealand and Malaysia line-up before a friendly File:NZvMalAction.JPG, New Zealand attacking the Malaysian goal during a friendly match File:CHCH City - Stadium1.jpg, The Stadium after the earthquake, 23 February 2011 File:QEII2.JPG, View towards the east end of the Queen Elizabeth II Park, from the main stand File:QEII stadium windtunnel model.jpg, Windtunnel model used at Canterbury University to test changed wind flow patterns upon removal of a temporary grandstand that was erected for the 1974 Commonwealth Games

Post-earthquake

In March 2012, Christchurch City Council released reports showing that the facilities at Queen Elizabeth II Park were beyond repair. The demolition of the stadium and pool complex began in August 2012.

Schools

In February 2015 the Minister of Education,

Hekia Parata Patricia Hekia Parata (born 1 November 1958) is a former New Zealand politician and former member of the New Zealand House of Representatives, having been elected to parliament in the 2008 general election as a member of the New Zealand Nationa ...

, announced that two single-sex high schools damaged in the earthquakes would be rebuilt at Queen Elizabeth II Park: Avonside Girls' and Shirley Boys'. Christchurch City Council sold of land to the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

for NZ$4.6m for the two schools.

New sports centre

The concept for a new Eastern Sport & Recreation Centre co-located adjacent to the schools was unveiled in May 2016, with an expected opening date in 2018. It opened as Taiora QEII Recreation and Sport Centre in May 2018.

References

External links

*Videos of a swimming pool walk-through showing earthquake damage :* :* {{DEFAULTSORT:Queen Elizabeth Ii Park 1970s architecture in New Zealand 1974 establishments in New Zealand 2012 disestablishments in New Zealand Defunct association football venues in New Zealand Defunct cricket grounds in New Zealand Stadiums of the Commonwealth Games Swimming venues in New Zealand Sports venues in Christchurch Sports venues completed in 1973 Sports venues demolished in 2012