Mount Smart Stadium (formerly known as Ericsson Stadium) is a multipurpose stadium in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

. It is the main home ground of the

New Zealand Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...

of the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

, and occasionally hosts

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

and international rugby league matches. Built within the quarried remnants of the Rarotonga / Mount Smart volcanic cone, it is located 10 kilometres south of the city centre, in the suburb of Penrose.

History

The Mount Smart Domain Board was established in 1943 with the purpose of transforming the former quarry site into a public reserve. In 1953, a plan was approved for a sports stadium which was officially opened in 1967. In 1978, it hosted 3 matches of the World Series Cricket tour of New Zealand. The stadium hosted track and field events including the highly successful Pan Am series during the early 1980s. During the 1988 Great Britain Lions tour the

Auckland rugby league team The Auckland rugby league team is the team which traditionally represents all of the clubs which play in the Auckland Rugby League competition. As well as a senior men's team there are also Auckland representative teams throughout the various a ...

defeated the tourists 30–14 at Mt Smart before a crowd of 8,000. Mount Smart hosted its first rugby league international on 23 July 1989 when

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

played the third test of the Kangaroos 1989 New Zealand Tour. In front of 15,000 fans, Australia defeated the Kiwis 22–14 to wrap up the series 3–0. The stadium was chosen as the Main Athletics Stadium as well as the opening and closing ceremonies venue of the

1990 Commonwealth Games The 1990 Commonwealth Games ( mi, 1990 Taumāhekeheke Commonwealth) were held in Auckland, New Zealand from 24 January – 3 February 1990. It was the 14th Commonwealth Games, and part of New Zealand's 1990 sesquicentennial celebrations. Partic ...

. It was where the

New Zealand national football team The New Zealand men's national football team ( mi, Tīma hoka a-motu o Aotearoa) represents New Zealand in men's international football competitions. The team is governed by the governing body for football in New Zealand, New Zealand Football ...

(the

All Whites The New Zealand men's national football team ( mi, Tīma hoka a-motu o Aotearoa) represents New Zealand in men's international football competitions. The team is governed by the governing body for football in New Zealand, New Zealand Footbal ...

) played all their home qualifying games for the

1982 FIFA World Cup The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy, who defeated West Germany 3–1 ...

. This was the first occasion that New Zealand had qualified for a

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...

and the event captured the imagination of the nation with large crowds packing the stadium.

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a rec ...

holds the attendance record of the stadium, with 45,000 fans, who saw her play at Adele Live 2017. Ericsson Stadium was the host of the

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of w ...

's 1997 World Club Championship Final between Australian teams the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite c ...

and

Hunter Mariners The Hunter Mariners were an Australian professional rugby league club based in the Hunter Region's largest city, Newcastle. Hunter was formed in mid-1995 and was later disbanded at the end of 1997. The club was formed because of the Super Leag ...

. In front of 12,000 fans, the Broncos defeated the Mariners 36–12. Ericsson Stadium hosted three-quarters of the 1999 Rugby League Tri-nations' games, including the final, which New Zealand lost 20–22. The stadium is now owned by the

Auckland Council Auckland Council ( mi, Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau) is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is a ...

, following the merger of Auckland's regional authorities and managed by Auckland Stadiums. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the back of the grandstand roof at Mount Smart was used for

Bungee jumping Bungee jumping (), also spelled bungy jumping, is an activity that involves a person jumping from a great height while connected to a large elastic cord. The launching pad is usually erected on a tall structure such as a building or crane, a ...

. Following the first rugby league test at the stadium in 1989, Australian captain

Wally Lewis Walter James Lewis AM (born 1 December 1959) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1980s and 1990s. He became a commentator for television coverage of the sp ...

and teammate

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...

both 'took the plunge'. Mount Smart Stadium also hosted the first standalone

NRL Women's Premiership The Telstra NRL Women's Premiership (NRLW) is Australia's national rugby league competition for female players. The first season of the league began in September 2018 with four teams. The league is run by the National Rugby League (NRL) and is ...

match between the

and St. George Illawarra Dragons on 22 September 2019. The Dragons won this match 26–6.

Naming rights

As of 12 July 2006, the stadium reverted to its original name, Mt Smart Stadium. In a press release, the

Auckland Regional Council The Auckland Regional Council (ARC) was the regional council (one of the former local government authorities) of the Auckland Region. Its predecessor the Auckland Regional Authority (ARA) was formed in 1963 and became the ARC in 1989. The ARC ...

, owners of the stadium, stated they had considered other offers, but felt they did not suit. Auckland Regional Council did not actively pursue a replacement sponsor. On 14 July 2017 the Stadium was temporarily renamed Manu Vatuvei Stadium for the Warriors vs Panthers game where the Warriors bid farewell to club legend

Manu Vatuvei Manu Mapuhola Mafi-Vatuvei (born 4 March 1986), also known by the nickname "The Beast", is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer and convicted methamphetamine importer who was both a Tonga and New Zealand international repres ...

Tenants

It currently serves as the home ground for the

in the Australian

and

. It is the former home of the Football Kingz of the

Australian National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its d ...

; however, its

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

successor, the now defunct

New Zealand Knights New Zealand Knights Football Club (formed from the Football Kingz Football Club in 2004) were the only professional association football club in New Zealand before they became defunct. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, they played in the A-Leagu ...

, played on the other side of

Waitematā Harbour Waitematā Harbour is the main access by sea to Auckland, New Zealand. For this reason it is often referred to as Auckland Harbour, despite the fact that it is one of two harbours adjoining the city. The harbour forms the northern and easter ...

North Harbour Stadium North Harbour Stadium is a stadium situated in Albany, in North Shore City, New Zealand. It was opened in 1997, after nearly a decade of discussion, planning and construction. Rugby union, association football, rugby league, and baseball are ...

. In 2022, the Moana Pasifika Super Rugby team will start playing at Mt Smart. The Athletics Ground (officially Mt Smart Stadium Number 2) hosts athletics meets, right down to Primary School Level. It also holds local

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

matches and serves as the home ground for the Auckland franchise in the

Bartercard Premiership The NZRL Bartercard Premiership was a six-team rugby league competition that ran in 2008 and 2009. It replaced the now-defunct Bartercard Cup competition as the highest level of rugby league in New Zealand. Matches have been broadcast on SKY Networ ...

Rugby league test matches

A list of rugby league test and World Cup matches played at Mount Smart Stadium.

Concerts

The capacity of the stadium for concerts is roughly 47,000 people. This can be expanded to 60,000 when the temporary north and south stands are installed. A list of concerts held at the stadium are included in the table below: Mount Smart Stadium was the Auckland venue of the

Big Day Out The Big Day Out (BDO) was an annual music festival that was held in five Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Adelaide, and Perth, as well as Auckland, New Zealand. The festival was held during summer, typically in January of eac ...

music festival until 2012. In 2014,

Western Springs Stadium Western Springs Stadium is a stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. Built within a natural amphitheatre, it is primarily used for rugby union matches during the winter and for speedway during the summer. It is also occasionally used for large conce ...

served as the venue for the festival in Auckland. Among the concerts hosted were Rainbow Warrior Benefit Concert (Greenpeace 1986) featuring multiple artists including

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fu ...

on acoustic guitar and

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 18 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a precocious teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he h ...

Graham Nash Graham William Nash (born 2 February 1942) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, photographer, and activist. He is known for his light tenor voice and for his contributions as a member of the Hollies and the supergroups Crosby, Stills ...

Topp Twins The Topp Twins (born 14 May 1958) are the folk singing and activist sister comedy duo of New Zealand entertainers Jools and Lynda Topp. They are known for their country music influenced style, live shows and television performances. They often ...

Dave Dobbyn Sir David Joseph Dobbyn (born 3 January 1957) is a New Zealand musician, singer–songwriter and record producer. In his early career he was a member of the rock group Th' Dudes and was the main creative force in pop band DD Smash. Since then ...

and a

Split Enz Split Enz were a New Zealand rock band formed in Auckland in 1972 by Tim Finn and Phil Judd and had a variety of other members during its existence. Originally started as a folk-oriented group with quirky art rock stylings, the band built a ...

reunion within Mt Smart Stadium. An album of Maori artists who came to support the aims of the Mt. Smart Stadium project was released in 1981. It was called '' The Mauri Hikitia''. It reached no 4 on the New Zealand charts. It featured

Rhonda Rhonda is a given name derived from Rhondda, which is a Welsh name. Notable people with the name include: * Rhonda Adams (born 1971), American model and actress * Rhonda Bates (born 1949), American actress * Rhonda Belle Martin (1907–1957), ...

, Ken Kincaid,

Deane Waretini Deane Waretini (born c. 1946) is a musician from New Zealand. He had a #1 chart hit in 1981 with the song " The Bridge", a Māori language song set to Nini Rosso's tune "Il Silenzio". He is also the son of a historically significant Maori barito ...

, and the Lightwood family.Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarew
Object: The Mauri Hikitia Album
/ref>

References

External links

Mount Smart Stadium official site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mt. Smart Stadium 1967 establishments in New Zealand Athletics (track and field) venues in New Zealand Rugby league stadiums in New Zealand Rugby League World Cup stadiums Rugby union stadiums in New Zealand Association football venues in New Zealand Sports venues in Auckland Music venues in New Zealand 1990 Commonwealth Games Stadiums of the Commonwealth Games New Zealand Warriors 1960s architecture in New Zealand Moana Pasifika Association football in Auckland