Plans have been unveiled for a proposed new 55,000-seat stadium in the Quay Park area of Auckland, New Zealand.
The stadium would form part of a wider 15-hectare precinct that would also include hotels, bars, restaurants, retail and office space, residential apartments and green spaces. One of the hotels would be themed on New Zealand’s national rugby union team, the All Blacks.
The plans were first reported by the New Zealand Herald newspaper on Saturday and renderings of the project can be viewed here. The renderings have been designed by architecture firm HKS Australasia.
The precinct would be known as Te Tōangaroa. The proposed stadium features an innovative U-shaped design, with the roof drawing inspiration from Maori culture.
There is no guarantee that the plans will come to fruition, with Auckland Council reviewing a number of projects for a major stadium development in the city. One of these proposals has been put forward by Eden Park, New Zealand’s national stadium, which is planning on fitting a new retractable roof.
Other projects in the mix include potential waterfront stadiums at Bledisloe Wharf and Wynyard Point. Last year, it emerged that the Auckland Waterfront Consortium (AWC), which first revealed a proposal for a NZ$1.8bn (£874m/€1bn/$1.1bn) venture back in 2018, was planning a new venue that could seat up to 70,000 people.
Discussing the design of the proposed Te Tōangaroa stadium, Andrew Colling, a director at HKS Australasia, told the Herald: “Every city deserves a unique response and especially New Zealand. The last thing Auckland needs is another cookie cutter, cake tin solution that is imported from Australia or imported from Europe. We felt very strongly that this was an opportunity to take a fresh start.
“It reflects the unique context and backdrop and hopefully when people see the images they feel a strong sense of connection that yes, this is New Zealand, this is Auckland. That was the key driver; when you are in the stadium you can’t be anywhere else in the world.”
Colling added: “We hope that our design excites the community, shows what is possible and hopefully the momentum keeps going. It’s a catalyst to look at the east side of the city a bit differently.”
