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The new Northland Events Centre at Okara Park, Whāngārei will host two RWC 2011 Pool A matches in September 2011.

Match venue

About the stadium

The new Northland Events Centre at Okara Park. The new Northland Events Centre at Okara Park. The Northland Events Centre is a new multi-purpose events centre that was opened at Okara Park, Whāngārei, in June 2010. It has a larger capacity than the previous facility as well as a conference and function centre and changing rooms, food and retail facilities. With a new stand and refurbished embankments, the Events Centre has a capacity of 20,000 which includes 2,000 covered seats.

Okara Park is the traditional home of Rugby for Northland. In 1979, the stadium held an infamous match attended by a record breaking crowd of 40,000 as local side North Auckland defended the prized Ranfurly Shield against rivals Auckland.

The stadium has held several international games such as the 1998 test between the New Zealand Māori and Tonga and has seen Northland take on a number of touring international sides such as the British and Irish Lions, and Tonga, Samoa and Fiji in the mid 1990's.

Location

The Northland Events Centre is centrally located and less than two kilometres from Whāngārei’s city centre.

Stadium address:
Okara Park
Okara Drive
Whāngārei
 
Contact details:
 
Phone +64 9 430 2950
Fax +64 9 430 2952
Website: www.northlandeventscentre.co.nz

Getting to the stadium

  • By plane: Whāngārei Airport
  • By car: State Highway One (2 hours north of Auckland)
  • Walking: 15-20 minutes from the city centre
  • By bus: Take a CityLink bus to the Rose St Terminus in the city centre and walk from there (15 - 20 minute walk)

Going to the stadium by public or own transport takes:

  • 20 minutes from the airport
  • 8 minutes from the city centre
  • 10 minutes from State Highway One
  • 2 hours from Auckland

Getting to the game

There will be a number of road closures around the Northland Events Centre on match day. You're best to plan ahead and allow plenty of time to get to the game as you will only be able to walk up to the games.

ROAD CLOSURES

There will be a number of road closures around the Northland Events Centre on Wednesday 21 September from 4pm to 11pm, including the stadium-end of:

  • Okara Drive (north and south)
  • Port Road (south)
  • Porowini Avenue (new extension)

PARKING

As you will only be able to walk up to the games, temporary parking areas have been established at:

  • end of Railway Road
  • Porowini Avenue

There will be on-street parking available.

DROP-OFF AREAS

A one-way traffic and taxi drop-off system will operate from the Okara Drive roundabout and down Commerce Street.

DISABLED / MOBILITY IMPAIRED ACCESS

A disabled drop-off area will be set up on the new Porowini Avenue extension from which people will be able to transfer to fully-equipped shuttles that will deliver them to the game.

View map of road and parking restrictions around the Events Centre

Find out more about getting to the game

CITYLINK BUS SERVICE - EXTENDED SERVICES

If you are planning to catch a CityLink bus to the game, you can catch any service to the Rose St Terminus in the city centre and walk from there. It will take 15 - 20 mins to walk to the stadium from the Rose St Terminus.

CityLink will be extending services on game days.

Normal fares apply. It would be appreciated if you could have the correct change.

Find timetable, fare and bus route information

Find details of extra services for game days

Venue regulations and prohibited items

The following items are prohibited at all RWC 2011 Stadia:

  • Alcohol and drugs
  • Bottles, glass, cans, thermos flasks, any breakable container, drink bottles (whether unopened/sealed or not)
  • Hard cool boxes, chilly bins, cooler bags, picnic baskets, large bags (bags must be soft-sided and fit under your seat)
  • Air horns or sound amplifiers including loudhailers, musical instruments, horns, whistles
  • Prams, strollers, pushchairs
  • Umbrellas
  • Animals (except guide dogs)
  • Flares, fireworks, laser lights/pointers, smoke bombs, compressed gas containers, aerosols
  • Skateboards, roller blades, scooters, bicycles
  • Food (except for a small amount of non-commercial food for personal consumption, such as sandwiches or fruit)
  • Furniture, chairs or stools of any kind (including portable seating)
  • Flags with flag sticks/poles of more than 800mm in length
  • Banners or signs displaying slogans or images that are obscene or abusive or too large to display without obscuring signage or sightlines
  • Ambush marketing items or materials
  • Any photographic or recording device other than for person, non-commercial use
  • Any item that may be used as a weapon or a missile
  • Any item that may interfere with the enjoyment, comfort or safety of any person at the venue

For the most up-to-date list of Prohibited Items and Venue Regulations, visit:
www.rugbyworldcup.com/venueregulations

Training venues

Some open training sessions will be held by hosted teams prior to match Pool play.  These venues will be at the discretion of the respective teams.

Find the public training sessions and venues in Northland

You can also follow us on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook to keep updated about training venues:
Find our Twitter and Facebook information on 'contact us'
 

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