Revealed: New Zealand’s most expensive lawn - with its own full-time doctor on call
Tuesday, 16 December 2025
It might look like plain old grass, but this is no ordinary lawn.
Christchurch’s new stadium has laid what is believed to be New Zealand’s most expensive piece of grass, a multi-million-dollar, high-tech playing surface designed to withstand the All Blacks’ biggest hits, bass-heavy concerts and years of punishment under a roof.
The turf is the final major piece of the puzzle at the city’s long-awaited stadium, and it has been grown in secret, stitched together with science and engineered for impact.
Te Kaha project director Kent Summerfield says getting the turf down marks a major step forward.
“It’s a massive milestone for us.”
So serious is the investment, the lawn even has its own ‘doctor’.
“We’ve got a doctor in charge of the whole thing and he’s been involved since 2017,” Summerfield says.
That doctor is turf specialist Richard Gibbs, who has worked on elite playing surfaces his entire career.
“I’ve been involved with turf all over the world.”
The 1.2-hectare playing surface is a hybrid system, combining artificial material beneath the surface with real grass on top, using a secret blend of seeds.
“Because, bear in mind we’re an indoor growing environment, grass is an outdoor plant so we have to give it some extra reinforcement.”
Yes, this stadium has a roof, which makes growing grass a far more complex exercise.
Before it was installed in Christchurch, the turf was grown off-site in what was widely described as a secret location.
“Are we allowed to know where it was grown now?” Stuff asked Gibbs.
“Ha ha. It was the media who created that secret but it was grown out by the airport.”
Once in place, the work is far from over. Maintaining this lawn will require a dedicated team.
“We’ll have six or seven staff employed full-time on a roster.”
Those staff will be caring for an asset worth millions, although no one is willing to put an exact figure on it.
“This could be the most expensive piece of grass in NZ?” Gibbs was asked.
“Yep.”
“Do you know the price?”
“No, ha ha ha.”
But Summerfield agrees it is not cheap.
“Certainly more than I spend on my lawn.”
Asked for even a vague estimate, he said, “Ah no couldn’t give you an overall cost off the top of my head but yes it will be millions of dollars.”
From April, the turf will host everything from elite rugby to major concerts.
“Sports people always ruin the turf, we’ve got to make sure they ruin it in a controlled manner and we’ve got time to fix it,” Gibbs says, when asked whether the All Blacks or ravers at events like Synthony could damage it.
Summerfield has one simple message for players.
“Very gently please. Go easy,” he joked before explaining that it is actually built to be robust. They will also have a turf farm off site growing replacement rolls.
Even the stadium’s Australian chief executive Mark Baker made the trip across the Tasman to inspect the surface.
Asked whether the Wallabies might finally win on it one day, he laughed.
“Oh look, I think some of our project team that are from Australia have probably put some juju in the ground but you know, history doesn’t lie and I think they might be up against it.”
A million-dollar lawn with a doctor on call. Welcome to professional grass.