Cost of Christchurch’s new stadium comes in $26m under budget

Friday, 19 June 2026

The Highlanders played Moana Pasifika in front of a packed One NZ Stadium in the Super Rugby Super Round on April 26.

Christchurch’s new One New Zealand Stadium has come in $26.6 million under its final budget.

The final tallied cost is $656.5m, down from the $683m budget that was approved in 2022, but well ahead of the $533m forecast before the design was finalised and costs ballooned, and the $483m and $302m forecast prior to that.

The final account is detailed in a report going to Christchurch City Council’s finance and performance committee next week. The $26.6m saving includes the council’s contingency sum of $10m.

Synthony perform to a capacity crowd during the Once in a Lifetime concert at the stadium on May 16.

The saving means the council will need to borrow less money, and saves ratepayers 0.24% in their rates bills in the 2028 financial year.

The stadium opened in late April after it was completed five weeks ahead of schedule.

It has already hosted a number of sold-out sports fixtures, an opening concert, a public open day, and corporate events. The opening weekend’s Super Rugby super round attracted a sold-out 25,000 crowd for each of the three days, while the Once in a Lifetime concert in May had a capacity audience of 37,000.

Mayor Phil Mauger on site last year during its construction.

Australian-based stadium construction company BESIX Watpac was the lead contractor for the project under a design and construct contract with the city council.

With the stadium up and running, BESIX Watpac is now finalising remediation of identified defects by a March 2027 deadline, in what is the standard procedure with major construction projects.

The Te Kaha Project Delivery Ltd board, formed to oversee the project, will cease operating on June 30, and oversight of the defects notification process will transfer to the city council.

The stadium has already hosted sold-out sporting events and an opening concert.

Councillor Sam MacDonald, chair of the finance and performance committee, said the cost result was a fantastic conclusion to the council’s largest ever infrastructure project.

“Delivering a state-of-the-art, world-class stadium for Christchurch has been a challenging undertaking. I’m proud everyone involved has worked hard to keep costs within the agreed budget and on time,” he said.

Mayor Phil Mauger said the underspend was a testament to the hard work of those who worked to bring the stadium to life.

Fans watch the Crusaders play the Chiefs on May 22.

He said the stadium is already contributing to further investment and development in the city, and is “a key part of cementing Christchurch as the sporting and cultural capital of New Zealand.”

“There’s a real sense of momentum in the city, and this project is a huge part of that,” the mayor said.

The crowd at the Matatū vs Chiefs Manawa women’s Super Rugby Aupiki match at One NZ stadium last weekend broke attendance records, with 11,793 fans attending.

The council’s general manager of citizens and community, Andrew Rutledge, said when the contract was signed in 2022 there were global uncertainties because of the Covid pandemic and war in Europe.

Rutledge said the design and construct approach “helped protect us against cost escalations and provide some certainty at the outset”.

There had also been a risk that the local market could not meet the demands of such a large and complex project, he said.

Almost 4000 people worked on the stadium over three years, logging around 2.4 million collective work hours.

It was built with about 32,700m³ of concrete, 16,400 tonnes of steel, 122,000 bolts, 600km of cabling, 5km of air-conditioning ducting, 22,000 sheets of drywall, 11,500m² of steel sheeting, and 1100 panes of glass. Around 13,000 plants are included in the stadium precinct.