Farewell to Addington’s draughty old dump

Friday, 20 June 2025

The writer was in the stadium to capture the excitement when the All Blacks played Argentina in August 2022.

OPINION: It’s cold. It’s damp. It’s rusty. And it’s the only stadium I’ve ever known in Christchurch.

On Saturday night, for one of the final times, crowds will head out of the city centre to watch the Crusaders play. The Super Rugby final against the Chiefs will mark nearly the end of the road for the stadium in Addington – a ground hastily thrown together 13 years ago as a temporary replacement for the earthquake-damaged Lancaster Park.

When it opened, it was a symbol of strength and resilience. Just 13 months after the devastating earthquake, this scaffolded structure was built in only 100 days. It was meant to host major events: Super Rugby finals, All Blacks tests, U20 Football World Cup matches, and concerts from the likes of Bruce Springsteen and the Foo Fighters. Many of those events were acts of goodwill – ways to say that Christchurch hadn’t been forgotten.

But over time, the perception of the stadium – known variously as AMI, Orangetheory, Wyatt Crockett (for one memorable day in 2018), Christchurch, and most recently, Apollo Projects Stadium – began to shift. The current name is particularly puzzling: why would a design-focused construction firm want to be associated with this place? As fleeting as its names was its reputation. What started as a symbol of resilience became, in time, a symbol of standstill.

Turns out it was occasionally sunny in Addington – but even then, it was bitterly cold, as the faces of author Kai Schwoerer (front) and Crusaders legend Israel Dagg (behind) make clear.

While Christchurch slowly reinvented itself, a new stadium remained low on the priority list. Whether it had three stands or four – as it sometimes did for big occasions – the former Rugby League Park was always cold, always windy, and often wet.

The author was also there when Black Ferns head coach Wayne Smith and his players celebrated their win against the Wallaroos in August 2022.

I’ve worked in the stadium for years as a photographer and even got to see Dan Carter and Richie McCaw in their final season. Richie’s uncle, John McCaw, an avid photographer himself, quickly became something of a jinx. Whenever he said the weather wouldn’t be that bad, I knew I’d be soaked. And not just a little wet – properly soaked. Even fans in the two covered stands weren’t safe from the rain, which the wind often hurled directly into their faces.

In recent decades, I’ve visited hundreds of stadiums, and Addington was, without doubt, the least comfortable. But let’s be clear: as a freelancer for many years, I owe this stadium a lot of work. More importantly, I owe it memories – with colleagues in the Portacom media room, and with players in the changing room Portacom next door. It was the most functional stadium I’ve known – and also the most special. What it lacked in luxury, it made up for in proximity. You’d struggle to get closer to the action in any other arena.

A number of major international acts played at the stadium to a delighted audience.

If your view wasn’t blocked by a pillar, you had a fantastic vantage point. And down by the player tunnel, it got even more intimate. The tunnel wasn’t long enough to connect the changing rooms to the field, so players would walk part of the way in the open. Fans could get high-fives from their heroes before kick-off and at half-time. Depending on where you parked, you might cross paths not only with Crusaders stars but also with the horses from the adjacent Addington Raceway – and their droppings.

By the time Te Kaha opens in 2026, more than 15 years will have passed since the earthquake. It will be the venue that cements Christchurch’s place as New Zealand’s sports capital. For me – someone who moved here in early 2015 – it will be the first real stadium in my adopted home. The same goes for my two sons, who were born here.

My wife and I arrived nearly four years after the earthquake, and in those early days, I sometimes felt a strange sense of guilt. Did we deserve to enjoy watching the city grow more beautiful day by day, even though we hadn’t endured the trauma – the loss of homes, jobs, even loved ones?

But when it came to the stadium, I never felt that way. Quite the opposite, actually. Few people have spent more time in that draughty old dump than I have. And so, from where I stand, there’s only one group that deserves to enjoy Te Kaha even more than I do: the Crusaders players, who won seven consecutive titles and never got to play their home games in a proper stadium.

Those legends deserve to run out at Te Kaha at least once – perhaps against a team of former All Blacks greats. The place would sell out, just like it likely will for every event in the first few years.

I’m looking forward to that. But for now, I can’t wait for Addington’s final curtain. And to be honest, just this once, I wouldn’t mind a cold, rainy night. It would be a fitting farewell.