Eden Park (NZ)

Eden Park is regarded as New Zealand's national stadium and is the largest in the country with a capacity of 50,000. It primarily hosts Rugby Union and Cricket. The venue was upgraded for the staging of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, with the stadium accommodating 60,000 fans with the addition of temporary seating. In cricket mode, the stadium seats 42,000 - this is also often the capacity for rectangular sports when the retractable seating isn't in use.

The Auckland venue has seen major changes since its humble beginnings in 1900, first as a farm, subsequently a cricket ground, and then in 1921, the site of the first rugby test match against the Springboks. Eden Park became the home of Auckland Cricket in 1910 and the home of Auckland Rugby in 1925 after the Union had leased the grounds since 1914.

During the past 100 years Eden Park has been the host of many memorable sporting occasions including the first cricket international between Auckland and Australia in 1914 followed by the first rugby international in 1921 between New Zealand and Australia. Eden Park became a regular venue for rugby tests from 1930 onwards and for cricket tests from 1952 onwards. In 1956 the All Blacks defeated the all conquering Springboks in a series clinching win to be followed shortly after by New Zealand Cricket's first ever success in a test match when they defeated the West lndies the following summer. Other notable events to which Eden Park has been the host include the 1950 British Empire Games, the final of the inaugural Rugby World Cup Competition in 1987 (in which the All Blacks defeated France) and four memorable games from the Cricket World Cup that was jointly hosted with Australia in the summer of 1992.