Super Round teased for opening weekend at Te Kaha

Sunday, 8 June 2025

Super Rugby Pacific boss Jack Mesley said they are in talks to host Super Round at Te Kaha in 2026.

Christchurch’s new stadium at Te Kaha could play host to a massive sporting event in its first weekend.

Super Rugby Pacific boss Jack Mesley revealed to Newstalk ZB on Saturday they are in talks with One New Zealand stadium at Te Kaha - operated by Venues Ōtautahi - to host a Super Round over Anzac weekend 2026.

That Super Round - where each team would play over one weekend, in one venue - would be the first weekend and just days after the stadium’s expected completion date of April 20.

Christchurch could be treated to a different major sporting event next April, with Ruapuna confirmed as the host for the South Island’s first Supercars event. In 2024, the Taupō Supercars event was held April 21.

Until now, word of what Te Kaha’s major opening event could be has been kept secret.

Venues Ōtautahi chief executive Caroline Harvie-Teare confirmed discussions with Super Rugby Pacific were ongoing and the event would be “a wonderful outcome for the city”, but specific details were commercially sensitive.

The Christchurch stadium was just one of multiple venues being considered for the event, she said.

For Mesley’s part, he told Newstalk ZB his team were working hard to bring the event to Christchurch and “help open that amazing stadium”.

He said talks were going well and an official announcement could be soon.

Harvie-Teare said there was a 90 day launch event series in development for the new stadium, which would include major sporting, entertainment, community and corporate events.

There would be a number of test events in the lead up to the stadium’s practical completion date of April 20, she said. Turf health was a key factor in how events would be scheduled.

April 2026 could be a big month for sport in Christchurch. The South Island’s first Supercars event could be headed for Ruapuna about the same time.

The major motorsport event, as a double-header with an event in Taupō - which for the last two years has been in April - could result in some overlap with Te Kaha’s opening.