NZ | Rugby World Cup 2011

[Richard7666]

^Rugby Park redid the seating on the terraces or something; I just thought many of the others had done grandstands and things haven't they? Whangarei, Napier, I think Nelson?

[crazyalex]

Dunedin stadium > rest of NZ stadium
Auckland stadium is a joke

[otumoetaiNZ]

I wonder if some of the towns hosting rwc 2011 matches are going to cope next year. Perhaps itd have been better for the country to host all matches in auckland hamilton tauranga wellington and christchurch?

Having grotty weather and nothing to do in a small town is going to spoil the image of NZ on the tourists.

[KLK]

Originally Posted by otumoetaiNZ

I wonder if some of the towns hosting rwc 2011 matches are going to cope next year. Perhaps itd have been better for the country to host all matches in auckland hamilton tauranga wellington and christchurch?

Having grotty weather and nothing to do in a small town is going to spoil the image of NZ on the tourists.

Tourists are likely to be in the "small" towns a maximum of 3 days, and one of those taken up with activities before, during and after the match. I think they'll cope just fine finding things to do for 2 days.

And I sometimes wonder if NZers actually have any idea of the myriad of activities and attractions that exist outside of the main centres. Its staggering.

In fact, i think the small town match venues like Napier, Nelson, New Plymouth and Rotorua and nearby areas not hosting (think Queenstown/Wanaka, Tauranga/Mount, Taupo etc) will be the stars of the tournament from a tourists perspective.

[otumoetaiNZ]

Yeah but the irish wouldnt even go to new plymouth until the game and when they did no one was even in the bars watching the game. Really embarassing and not the look we want for rwc matches. They need to be hosted in the cities with venues that can cope with these matches and where theres actually something to do.

[NZ1]

Originally Posted by otumoetaiNZ

Yeah but the irish wouldnt even go to new plymouth until the game and when they did no one was even in the bars watching the game. Really embarassing and not the look we want for rwc matches. They need to be hosted in the cities with venues that can cope with these matches and where theres actually something to do.

So 25,000 people attending the match on Saturday wasn't enough for you?

As far as your uneducated and misinformed comments regarding there being no one in the bars watching the game, maybe you should try and say that to the crowds who were in every bar I went past on Saturday night,and to the crowds that arrived after the game, or perhaps the street-party that was held in the Western end of the CBD, or perhaps to the thousands of twenty-some-thing's that invaded the CBD after the match finished.

The streets were packed, and so were the restaurants and bars - there were NO complaints from the hospitality industry, and with 25,000 people at Yarrow Stadium the TRFU were pretty pleased as well!

No one really knows where that reporter (which is what I assume you're referring to) got the idea that it was deserted, but perhaps he was just having a bad day because he couldn't find a traditional Irish warm beer in New Plymouth. Good, I'm very pleased at that.

[IHaveNoLegs]

on the subject does anyone have any pictures of yarrow stadium from saturday nights game?

[piles]

I think New Plymouth hosting the Ireland v All Black game makes perfect sense. With all due respect to Ireland, they aren't the box office draw for the larger stadiums in Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch. Granted, the Cake Tin only holds another 5,000 odd than Yarrow Stadium, but the Wellington public are treated to a hell of a lot more international sporting events than Taranaki, so there would be a lot less interest.

Yarrow Stadium is by far the best regional stadium in the country. New Plymouth also has a fantastic history of catering for large crowds coming from out of town, such as WOMAD, Fleetwood Mac, G-Taranaki etc.

[bumsmoke]

Originally Posted by IHaveNoLegs

on the subject does anyone have any pictures of yarrow stadium from saturday nights game?

I have a couple and will post at the weekend

And from a vistor to New Plymouth who was there all weekend - It coped just fine and the streets were very busy around match time. Also impressive were all the buses that were provided to take fans from the CBD to the stadium (thousands used these).

[bumsmoke]

Not many but i did promise......

[IHaveNoLegs]

Thanks for those pictures, never see too many of Yarrow Stadium. The ground looks great, its just a pity they couldn't move that light tower.

[Richard7666]

Originally Posted by otumoetaiNZ

I wonder if some of the towns hosting rwc 2011 matches are going to cope next year. Perhaps itd have been better for the country to host all matches in auckland hamilton tauranga wellington and christchurch?

Having grotty weather and nothing to do in a small town is going to spoil the image of NZ on the tourists.

Hate to break it to you, but Dunedin would trump Hamilton and especially Tauranga in the venue stakes. Great look, having a speedway circuit round the pitch, isn't it. Not provincial at all.

You say the silliest things sometimes.

[bumsmoke]

Originally Posted by IHaveNoLegs

Thanks for those pictures, never see too many of Yarrow Stadium. The ground looks great, its just a pity they couldn't move that light tower.

Yeah that was my only complaint - all four light towers being inside the stands rather behind them. Apart form that though it's a good little stadium and a great asset for New Plymouth.

[otumoetaiNZ]

Originally Posted by Richard7666

Hate to break it to you, but Dunedin would trump Hamilton and especially Tauranga in the venue stakes. Great look, having a speedway circuit round the pitch, isn't it. Not provincial at all.

You say the silliest things sometimes.

Yup the stadium all the way down there is gonna look really nice but pitty its just gonna suck the cash outta the ratepayers. Might make a really nice flower pot if you fill it in though.

[Richard7666]

Yes agree it's probably excessive, but that's not what you were getting at, you seemed to be implying Tauranga was a superior venue to Dunedin for international rugby.

[otumoetaiNZ]

Tauranga needs a lot more work done on the stadium to get it up to standard, but lets face the fact that its a bigger city growing much faster, is centrally located, is closer to the major airports so tourists dont have to go far, and theres heaps more to do when the game isnt being played.

[UglyBob]

Originally Posted by otumoetaiNZ

theres heaps more to do when the game isnt being played.

Bollocks -- each post you write confirms your plunge into new depths of wankerdom.

[Richard7666]

I can't really comment too accurately as I've only been to Dunedin not Tauranga, but the latter doesn't really look like it has much in the way of entertainment compared to Dunedin. It looks quite small even though it is a bit bigger. 20,000 students make Dunedin a very vibrant place. The state of BoP rugby is also another factor, though Otago aren't exactly at the top of their game performance or finance wise either I'll admit. Tauranga is a relative sporting backwater while Dunedin is historically one of the top centres for this type of thing.

[piles]

Originally Posted by otumoetaiNZ

Tauranga needs a lot more work done on the stadium to get it up to standard, but lets face the fact that its a bigger city growing much faster, is centrally located, is closer to the major airports so tourists dont have to go far, and theres heaps more to do when the game isnt being played.

Your bias attitude is quite comical. You just seem to have a chip on you shoulder cause Tauranga isn't getting any World Cup games so have decided belittling New Plymouth and Dunedin is the way to go.

For the record I think Tauranga is a fabulous place and if the stadium gets a good upgrade, it would get some high profile games. But just out of interest, what is there that is "heaps more to do" in Tauranga?

[otumoetaiNZ]

Originally Posted by piles

Your bias attitude is quite comical. You just seem to have a chip on you shoulder cause Tauranga isn't getting any World Cup games so have decided belittling New Plymouth and Dunedin is the way to go.

For the record I think Tauranga is a fabulous place and if the stadium gets a good upgrade, it would get some high profile games. But just out of interest, what is there that is "heaps more to do" in Tauranga?

Nope just being realistic since this is our international reputation on the line and theres already been some negative comments from reporters following teams around. Putting matches on in inaccessible places isn't gonna bode well for our reputation.

Tauranga has far more things to do that some of these other places that are hosting games. Whats there to do in invercargil or palmy? In my opinion they should keep the matches to the cities so that more people can attend and players dont get bored during the day.