IAKS ANZ facility tour to New Zealand, July 4-6

The Waimakariri Multi-Use Sports Facility is a community hub built to serve the district's rapid population growth following the 2010/11 Christchurch earthquakes. The facility features four indoor courts configured for multiple sporting codes, seating for approximately 500 spectators, a central fitness facility, change rooms, and coaching and meeting spaces. Designed to consolidate multiple North Canterbury sports groups into one future-focused location, the building follows a loose-fit philosophy being flexible enough to evolve over decades, with capacity for two additional courts. An innovative community plaza, activated by operable walls, supports outdoor events and broader community gatherings. The facility has been an incredibly successful opportunity for a growing community to connect through sport, leisure and recreation.

One of Australasia's largest sports facilities, this 30,000m² Centre of Excellence serves elite, educational, and recreational communities alike. Its aquatic hall features a 50-metre, 10-lane competition pool with 1,000+ spectator seats, a diving pool, hot pools, and hydroslides, while nine indoor courts accommodate 2,500 spectators. Dedicated High Performance Sport New Zealand zones including an assessment track, physio suites, and analyst spaces are seamlessly integrated yet carefully separated from public areas, balancing athlete privacy with community access. Shaped through engagement with over a dozen stakeholder groups, the facility delivers a truly integrated, high-performance community asset of national significance.

Built in just 100 days following the 2011 Canterbury earthquakes, the temporary stadium replaced the irreparably damaged Lancaster Park and was originally intended to last only five years. However, the stadium emerged as a vital interim home for Christchurch's sports teams and events, keeping the city's sporting heartbeat alive for over a decade. 

Constructed using largely recycled infrastructure from other venues, lights from Dunedin's Carisbrook, turf and goalposts salvaged from Lancaster Park, seating used at Eden Park during the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The remarkable creation of this stadium echoes the resilience of a devastated community.

Incredibly, the stadium is notable for having the highest top-flight championship win percentage of any rectangular sporting stadium in the world, with the Crusaders winning eight Super Rugby titles in 14 years with a championship win rate of 57.1%

One NZ Stadium is a symbol of a community’s resilience and optimism. For the people of Christchurch, it is the final piece in the rebuilding of a city devastated by the 2011 earthquakes.

As New Zealand's first fully enclosed stadium, this versatile venue is designed to flex and transform and hosts everything from sports to major concerts. With a capacity of 30,000 for sport events and 36,000 for concerts, the venues versatility is exceptionally showcased.

A sciences-based performance approach in the design studied natural light for turf health, fluid dynamics to assess air movement, acoustic modelling for reverberation and attenuation, patron movement modelling to reduce queue times. Every layer was carefully balanced to deliver an exceptional and seamless patron experience.

Ultimately, Te Kaha is for the people, a place to gather, to connect and to celebrate. To look past the history of loss and to embrace the future.