Invite-only Warriors watch party will put Christchurch’s new stadium to the test
Thursday, 26 March 2026
Thousands of people will get to try out Christchurch’s new stadium before it opens at two test events, but they will be invite-only.
The news comes as Venues Ōtautahi (VŌ), the Christchurch City Council-owned venues management company, scales up its operations and expects revenue to double in the next financial year.
The first event at the One New Zealand stadium is the Super Rugby round on April 24-26, but to test the facility before that VŌ plans to invite 8000 people to a Warriors watch party on April 5, Easter Sunday.
The second event will be on April 16 and will be a Crusaders open training where 9420 people will be invited.
Those invited to either event will still have to buy tickets, but they will be only $2 each.
VŌ chief executive Caroline Harvie-Teare told a council meeting on Wednesday that council staff would be invited and tickets would be set aside for One New Zealand and the Warriors, who she expected would invite people in their databases.
The events would be used to test the south and east stands, turnstiles and ticketing, food and beverage outlets, transport and traffic and staff.
“It is important with a test event we achieve the capacity we need to properly test the venue. To achieve this we need content for guests to enjoy.”
The Warriors watch party will enable fans to view the game against the Sharks in Sydney, on two 150m² screens inside the stadium. The match will also be broadcast on digital screens around the concourse. It is expected to open from 3pm until 6.30pm. The game starts at 4pm.
Harvie-Teare said both events were invite-only because they needed to restrict capacity so they could test certain spaces of the stadium.
“These are closed test events curated for a certain purpose and may include the likes of evacuation drills etc. For this reason it is important we control as much as we can attendance at the venue.”
The wider public will be able to attend an open day on Saturday, May 2, between 10am and 4pm.
VŌ, which is already New Zealand’s largest venue operator, is ramping up its operations to take on the stadium.
The number of staff it employs will increase from 550 in the 24/25 year to 1000 staff in 2026/27. It is also expecting revenue to increase from $24m in 2024/25 to $50m in the 2026/27 year.
VŌ also owns and manages the Christchurch Town Hall, Wolfbrook Arena and manages the Apollo Projects Stadium, the Air Force Museum of NZ and Hagley Oval.
The estimated economic impact from its operations is expected to hit $100m in 26/27, up from $42m in 24/25. The number of events is also expected to rise to 550 in 26/27, up from 400 in 24/25.
The company reported a net surplus after tax from operations for the six months to December 31, 2025 of $2.5m. This is up from $1.3m during the same six months a year earlier.
The council heard on Wednesday, VŌ was on track to meet its targets for the full year. During the first six months it had hosted 360,980 guests at its venues, against a 12 month target of 600,000. There were 268 events, and was aiming for 400 by July.
Some 81% of food offered at the venues was procured from Canterbury.
Harvie-Teare told councillors VŌ had been preparing to take on the stadium for a long time and felt the responsibility to deliver for the council and the city.
VŌ also announced on Wednesday the stadium had received a glowing accessibility report after people with a variety of needs, including those in wheelchairs, with little or no vision, little or no hearing, and the elderly, tested every aspect of the stadium
New Zealand Spinal Trust chief executive Hans Wouters said their members gave the stadium a “glowing report” following the wheelchair accessibility audit.
There are 39 accessible car parks on-site and a drop-off bay.
People were also happy with the seating options, the height of ticket boxes and food concession stands. There was also a test to see how many wheelchairs fit in the public lifts – they managed to get six wheelchairs in.