Auckland’s Renovated Eden Park to Open Oct. 10

Auckland’s Renovated Eden Park to Open Oct. 10

Auckland’s new-look Eden Park, which has just undergone a three-year, multimillion-dollar upgrade for Rugby World Cup 2011, will open its gates on Oct. 10 for a special open day that will allow members of the public to inspect the redevelopment first-hand and get a behind-the-scenes look at what will be New Zealand’s main venue for the Rugby World Cup next year.

Seating capacity has been increased to 60,000 and as well as the finals, the stadium will host the RWC opening and closing ceremonies. Prime Minister John Key will officially open the revamped stadium as part of the Sunday, Oct. 10, open day and all proceeds from the gold-coin donation entry fee will go to the Christchurch Earthquake fund.

The major upgrade of Eden Park includes a new six-level, 21,500-seat south stand, a new three-tier east stand and an increased area of covered seating. An internal concourse has been developed to improve crowd flow and there have been extensive improvements to food and beverage outlets, toilets, corporate areas, team and media facilities.