Forsyth Barr Stadium, Multi-purpose sports venue in Dunedin, New Zealand
Forsyth Barr Stadium is a fully covered multi-purpose stadium in Dunedin North, Dunedin, New Zealand. Its clear ETFE roof, supported by five steel trusses each spanning 105 metres, covers the entire playing field. The lower facade is clad in dark grey-blue panels with slim vertical windows, and the roof rises 37 metres above the centre line. The stadium seats 30,748 in sports mode.
Hawkins Construction began work on the site in May 2009 and completed the stadium in August 2011, when Prime Minister John Key opened it. It replaced Carisbrook as home of the Highlanders and the Otago Rugby Football Union. The Dunedin City Council had voted 12–2 in favour on 17 March 2008 after prolonged deliberation and public opposition over cost.
The stadium brings together the local rugby and football communities for regular match days throughout the year. It has become a central gathering place where supporters of the Highlanders and Southern United show their allegiance and celebrate victories together.
The stadium stands in Dunedin North, not on Anzac Avenue: State Highway 88 was diverted onto a new road beside the railway line, 200 metres east of Anzac Avenue, and Neptune Street links the remaining stretches of Magnet and Parry Streets to a roundabout just east of the venue. The ground has 318 toilets and 12 food and beverage stalls, and 220 two-kilowatt lights illuminate it.
The transparent roof material is specially designed to allow natural grass to grow underneath, a technique used in very few stadiums worldwide. This solution combines modern sports architecture with authentic playing conditions.
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