 1971 Lions Tour of New Zealand | |
 Interactive map of Athletic Park | |
| Location | Newtown,Wellington,New Zealand |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 41°19′2″S174°46′37″E / 41.31722°S 174.77694°E /-41.31722; 174.77694 |
| Owner | Athletic Park Company (1896–1908) Wellington Rugby Football Union (1908–1999) |
| Capacity | 800 (1898) 1,100 (1902) 5,700 (1928) 59,000 (1959) 39,000 (1999) |
| Surface | Grass |
| Opened | 6 April 1896 |
| Closed | 10 October 1999 |
| Tenants | |
| Wellington Rugby Football Union (1896-1999) New Zealand national rugby union team (1904-1999) Wellington Hurricanes (1996-1999) | |
Athletic Park was arugby union ground located inNewtown, a suburb ofWellington, New Zealand. It was owned and operated by theWellington Rugby Football Union, and was used for Wellington first-class matches, as well as local club matches. It hosted the firstNew Zealand national rugby union team (All Blacks) home test match in 1904, and continued to be used as a regular venue for All Blacks home matches until its closure and demolition in 1999.[1] It was also the primary home ground of the Wellington Hurricanes (now known as theHurricanes) between 1996 and 1999.
The ground was an open park overlookingCook Strait and thePacific Ocean and was therefore exposed to Wellington's regular strong winds. For this reason, it was described by French journalistDenis Lalanne as a "desolate, cyclone-swept stadium... pitiful and at the same time wonderful."[2] It was famous for the Millard Stand, a very steep grandstand which used to sway in the winds. The Millard Stand was completed in 1961 and named forWellington Rugby Football Union administrator J. N. Millard.[3] The Millard Stand replaced the Western Bank, a section that was so popular that fans would camp at the ground overnight to ensure they could sit there.[2] The regular patrons of the Western Bank, referred to as "Bankers", were considered particularly knowledgeable about rugby union.[2][4]
Towards the end of its life, the stadium fell into a poor condition but was still cherished by the public.[1] Throughout the 1980s several proposals were made to modernise the grounds, but instead a decision was made to build a new stadium. Several alternatives were proposed, including a new stadium inPorirua or revamping theBasin Reserve orFraser Park inHutt Valley. The proposal that was ultimately successful was a new stadium built on unused land near theWellington railway station. This stadium, now formally known asWellington Regional Stadium and colloquially as "The Cake Tin", was completed in 1999, and Athletic Park closed permanently that same year.
Athletic Park has now been demolished and replaced with aretirement village.[1][5] The last match played at the ground was on 10 October 1999, betweenWellington andOtago in theNPC, with Wellington prevailing 36–16.[6]
Athletic Park hosted 42 Test matches involving the All Blacks from 1904 to 1999, including the43–6 win overAustralia in 1996. The ground record crowd was 59 000 people, set in a1959 match against theBritish Lions.[4]
The phenomenon of extreme winds at the ground was most famously displayed in the1961 Test againstFrance, later nicknamed the "Cyclone Test", as it was played in hurricane-force winds of up to 79 miles per hour (127 kph).[3][7] Lalanne's review of the match declared it to have been "a nightmare spectacle", with the extreme winds causing the closure of most of the newly built Millard Stand, numerous errors in gameplay and touch kicks that were pushed behind the kicker.[3][7] New Zealand eventually prevailed 5-3 in the lowest-scoring game of the tour, afterDon Clarke made a sideline conversion by kicking almost parallel to the try line, with the wind curling the ball between the posts.[3]
The last Test match played at Athletic Park was against France on 26 June 1999, with the All Blacks winning 54–7.[5]
Athletic Park hosted four matches of the1987Rugby World Cup.
| Date | Competition | Home team | Away team | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 May 1987 | 1987Rugby World Cup Pool 2 |  Ireland | 6 |  Wales | 13 | 15,000 |
| 28 May 1987 | 1987Rugby World Cup Pool 4 |  France | 55 |  Romania | 12 | 7,000 |
| 30 May 1987 | 1987Rugby World Cup Pool 4 |  Scotland | 60 |  Zimbabwe | 21 | 12,000 |
| 1 June 1987 | 1987Rugby World Cup Pool 3 |  New Zealand | 46 |  Argentina | 15 | 30,000 |
In 1923, Athletic Park hosted the inaugural final of theChatham Cup, New Zealand's principal knockoutassociation football (soccer) tournament.[8]
Athletic Park also played host to other non-sports events, including a visit by Pope John Paul II in 1986[9] and various rock concerts.
Kiss performed a concert in 1980 as part of theirUnmasked Tour.[10] In 1983,David Bowie andDire Straits performed at Athletic Park, with further performances by Dire Straits in 1986 and 1991.[11]Elton John performed two concerts there, the first on 10 March 1982 as part of hisJump Up! Tour and the second was on 22 February 1984 as part of hisToo Low for Zero Tour.Eurythmics performed on 28 January 1987 as part of their Revenge Tour.[citation needed]
In March 1980,Fleetwood Mac played what was described by Grant Harding ofHawke's Bay Today as "the worst concert ever" at the ground. The band began arguing and fighting amongst themselves during the performance and left the stage, before later returning to continue. Those attending chanted for the return of the supporting band, New Zealand's Street Talk as the music deteriorated.[12]
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