Pub served two and a half thousand litres of beer during Christchurch's Super Friday

Saturday, 25 April 2026

Beers o’clock at The Church on Friday, as Nick Brown (second from left), a lifelong Hurricanes supporter from Wellington and friends enjoy The Church Pub.

Central Christchurch hospitality venues experienced a massive surge in business on Friday, with one pub pouring up to 2500 litres of beer to celebrate the opening of the One New Zealand Stadium.

The influx of tens of thousands of fans for the Anzac weekend Super Rugby Pacific Super Round meant boom time for businesses near the stadium and demonstrated the immediate value of a central city arena.

At The Church Pub, which was one focal point of the festivities, staff went through up to 50 kegs of beer in a day, with each keg holding 50 litres. Inkster Company director Andrew Norton, whose hospitality group runs the venue alongside OGB Bar & Courtyard and Paddy McNaughton's Irish Pub, said Steinlager Ultra was the undisputed top seller.

The beers were flowing at The Church Pub on Manchester St on Friday, with patrons getting through 2500 litres of beer.

'I can tell you at the moment, we're scouring, scouring our other bars to make sure we can find enough to keep it turning over at The Church tonight,' Norton said on Saturday morning.

The crowds brought a vibrant, friendly atmosphere to the city, Norton said, with patrons also ordering a lot of food.

The decision to build the $683 million stadium in the heart of the city was inspired, he said.

Dux Central owner Richard Sinke with operations manager Ross Herrick.

“Whoever designed it and put it there deserves a lot of credit. Right place, probably the right size, and it's great for the inner city. It is magnificent,” Norton said. “…operators that got through difficult times have done really well and will reap the benefits of it now.”

A stone's throw from the stadium, Dux Central was full of rugby fans on Friday, with staff obliged to turn walk-ins away. Operations manager Ross Herrick said the venue had 1200 bookings for its bar and restaurant across the weekend.

“We're seeing a lot of people from out of town. We've got two big Australian groups booked this weekend. It's a chance for us to showcase the place,” Herrick said.

“We've been waiting 10 years. The last few years have been tough for hospitality and retail and the economy in general, so the fact that this has come on budget, on time, and it's just great … it's exciting to be a part of it.”

Herrick noted Sunday’s bookings were slightly lower at “a couple hundred”, joking it was because “no one wants to see the Blues”.

“The real benefit of having the stadium where it is, it's a real platform for other businesses to leverage off,” Venues Ōtautahi chief executive Caroline Harvie-Teare said.

“That's why it is really important that people get out into those local businesses. And certainly, from what I saw before and after the game [on Friday], I think there'll be some pretty good business being done around the city, that's for sure.”