Apia Park is a multi-function sports complex located in
Apia
Apia () is the capital and largest city of Samoa, as well as the nation's only city. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga.
Th ...
, the capital of
Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...
. Primarily used for
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...
events, Apia Park is the home stadium of the
Samoa national rugby union team
The Samoa national rugby union team (also known as Manu Samoa) represents Samoa in men's international rugby union and it is governed by the Samoa Rugby Union. They are also known as Manu Samoa, which is thought to derive from the name of a Sam ...
, Manu Samoa. It is also a venue for
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...
.
Manuma Samoa use the venue for rugby union matches.
Facilities
The venue consists of a
stadium
A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...
with a capacity of 12,000, a
gymnasium, as well as
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball c ...
and
netball
Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...
courts.
The Island of Savai'i however calls the
Prince Edwards Park, Lalomalava their home stadium.
History
The ground was opened in 1924 in and the first sporting event hosted was the rugby match against
Fiji. In 2015, the main stadium area underwent a multi-million
tālā facelift by
Shanghai Construction Group for the historic match against the
All Blacks
The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 198 ...
as part of both teams' preparations for the
upcoming World Cup.
Events and competitions
In 2007, Apia Park was one of the main venues for the
2007 Pacific Games, hosting the
athletics,
table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...
,
badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...
,
lawn bowls
Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gr ...
,
rugby sevens and
touch rugby events. The Park will be put to use again for an international event when it hosts the opening and closing ceremonies for the
2015 Commonwealth Youth Games, as well as the Games' athletics, rugby league and tennis competitions. The park hosted a test-match between Samoa and Fiji on 8 October 2016, marking the 30th anniversary of rugby league in Samoa.
In 2017 Blues and Reds will play a regular season game of Super Rugby for the first time ever.
Moana Pasifika, an
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 ...
based
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...
team composed of players from around the Pacific, will play a
2023 Super Rugby Pacific home game at Apia Park against the
Queensland Reds
The Queensland Reds is the rugby union team for the Australian state of Queensland that competes in the Southern Hemisphere's Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996, they were a representative team selected from the rugby union club competitions ...
.
See also
*
List of rugby league stadiums by capacity
References
External links
Apia Park Sports Complex 2007 Pacific Games. Retrieved 23 June 2007.
Profileon
ESPNscrum
ESPNscrum was an online news site based in United Kingdom dedicate to providing the latest news in Rugby union. It provided live minute-by-minute updates on major international and club games and kept an in-depth statistics on every international ...
{{Super Rugby stadiums
Samoa national rugby union team
Buildings and structures in Apia
Sports venues in Samoa
Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...
Football venues in Samoa
Athletics (track and field) venues in Samoa
Rugby league stadiums in Samoa
Rugby union stadiums in Samoa