Forsyth Barr Stadium

About

Forsyth Barr Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Dunedin, New Zealand. At various stages of development it was also known as Dunedin Stadium or Awatea Street Stadium, or its non-commercial official name during the 2011 Rugby World Cup and 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Otago Stadium. The fully covered stadium is also known colloquially as 'The Glasshouse' due to its resemblance to a horticultural hothouse. The stadium was opened by New Zealand Prime Minister John Key on 5 August 2011, replacing Carisbrook as the home stadium of the Highlanders team in Super Rugby and the Otago Rugby Football Union team in the domestic Mitre 10 Cup. The stadium hosted four matches of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, and has hosted major music tours, starting in November 2011 with Elton John. The venue hosted multiple matches for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.

The stadium is located in Dunedin North, close to the outflow of the Water of Leith into Otago Harbour (and directly over the outflow of Opoho Stream). Its site is close to several other major sports venues. Logan Park lies immediately to the north, and the University Oval and the Caledonian Ground are also nearby to the north of the stadium. Also to the north of the stadium is Logan Point quarry, at the foot of Signal Hill.

To the west, the stadium's near neighbours include Otago Polytechnic and the University of Otago College of Education. The main campus of the University of Otago lies one kilometre to the west.

The stadium's construction required the shifting of New Zealand State Highway 88, the main road between the CBD to the West Harbour Suburbs and the port facilities, which prior to stadium construction followed Anzac Avenue as part of its route, turning northeast at Logan Park before following the harbour's edge past Ravensbourne. The highway was diverted onto a new stretch of road alongside the railway line, 200 metres east of Anzac Avenue. Several roads located close to the mouth of the Leith were either covered over by the new construction (Leander Street and Awatea Street) or had their routes considerably altered (Magnet Street and Parry Street). A new street, Neptune Street, was built to link remaining stretches of Magnet and Parry Streets, and connects with SH88 at a newly built roundabout immediately to the east of the stadium.

The stadium was designed by Populous and Jasmax in a joint venture. The stadium roof was constructed with a clear ETFE roof supplied and installed by the firm Vector Foiltec, the same material as used at Allianz Arena in Munich and the Water Cube in Beijing.

The stadium was designed as a versatile venue, and is expected to be able to host a range of events including sports ( rugby union, rugby league, football, basketball, netball ), concerts, trade fairs and other large-scale events. The use of relocatable seating allows for flexibility to suit a range of event requirements. Due to size constraints, some sports (such as cricket, a popular sport in New Zealand) are unable to use the stadium.

It has a maximum seated capacity of 30,748 in a full sports mode, and capacity in excess of 36,000 for concerts. There are permanent stands in the South and North with removable seating in East and West Stand areas. The West Stand Area, officially called the Mitre 10 Mega Stand, is also known as the Zoo and is popular with the student population.

Internal roof height at centre line: 37 metres

External roof height 47 metres (equivalent to a 12-storey building)

The roof is covered with 20,500m 2 of ETFE ( ethylene tetrafluoroethylene ) transparent roofing material (also used in the Eden Project, England and the Beijing Cube, China). Rainwater is collected from the 20,500m 2 roof surface and recycled to irrigate the pitch.

The roof, supported by 5 steel trusses each spanning 105 metres, is capable of supporting the weight of a car. The main truss (South Stand) is 130 metres long and weighs 390 tonnes.

Real grass is strengthened by synthetic grass fibres injected deep into the soil. This increases the hard-wearing capability, allowing 3 times the use of natural grass field. The turf is serviced by 2.5 km of drainage, 15 km of irrigation and 40 automated sprinkler heads. It consists of three different types of seed, 3200m3 of sand, soil and compost in three different layers.

Due to the perceived high cost of maintaining the turf, proposals have been made to replace the grass/artificial turf with a 100% artificial turf, which would limit the attractiveness of the venue for high earning events like rugby test matches (for which the stadium was initially proposed to replace Carisbrook ).

Internal roof height at centre line: 37 metres

External roof height 47 metres (equivalent to a 12-storey building)

The roof is covered with 20,500m 2 of ETFE ( ethylene tetrafluoroethylene ) transparent roofing material (also used in the Eden Project, England and the Beijing Cube, China). Rainwater is collected from the 20,500m 2 roof surface and recycled to irrigate the pitch.

The roof, supported by 5 steel trusses each spanning 105 metres, is capable of supporting the weight of a car. The main truss (South Stand) is 130 metres long and weighs 390 tonnes.

Real grass is strengthened by synthetic grass fibres injected deep into the soil. This increases the hard-wearing capability, allowing 3 times the use of natural grass field. The turf is serviced by 2.5 km of drainage, 15 km of irrigation and 40 automated sprinkler heads. It consists of three different types of seed, 3200m3 of sand, soil and compost in three different layers.

Due to the perceived high cost of maintaining the turf, proposals have been made to replace the grass/artificial turf with a 100% artificial turf, which would limit the attractiveness of the venue for high earning events like rugby test matches (for which the stadium was initially proposed to replace Carisbrook ).

Hawkins Construction began work on the site during May 2009. It was completed in August 2011.