Newtown Park, Sports stadium in Newtown, Wellington, New Zealand.
Newtown Park is a multi-purpose stadium in Newtown, Wellington, owned and managed by Wellington City Council. Its main arena, Newtown Park 1, has a grass pitch ringed by a 400-metre all-weather athletics track, plus a grandstand and a function room. A second rectangular pitch, Newtown Park 2, lies south of the main arena.
Newtown Park was built in 1881 on land that was originally part of Wellington Zoo. It hosted its first match in 1882, an international rugby game in which New South Wales beat Wellington 14–2 before 5,000 spectators. The ground was later used to house New Zealand troops before they departed for the Boer War, World War I and World War II.
Newtown Park also hosts Carols by Candlelight and serves as a community events centre for the surrounding area. The Kiwi Athletic Club is based at the ground, and school sports associations stage their own athletics days there alongside the McEvedy Shield.
The main arena holds a 400-metre all-weather track around a grass pitch, with a grandstand and function room; a second rectangular pitch lies to the south. Wellington United has priority on winter weekends and Athletics Wellington on summer weekends and weekday hours outside school time. The track surface, a Spurtan BV laid in January 2018, is certified by World Athletics as a Class 2 facility.
The main arena's 400-metre track was resurfaced with Spurtan BV in January 2018 and is certified by World Athletics as a Class 2 facility. The number 1 pitch was redeveloped in 2011 as a training base for teams at that year's Rugby World Cup.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,689 contributors worldwide.