In a city that’s passionate about its sport, one place is considered sacred – the home of Canterbury Rugby. Originally called Lancaster Park and later renamed Jade Stadium, the 40,000 seat arena was a place where epic battles took place. A distinctive feature of the Christchurch cityscape, it stood proud and strong until February 2011, when the earthquakes struck.

Following the quakes, the venue was closed, with high profile rugby clashes, as well as other sporting and cultural events, being diverted to other centres. As time wore on it became apparent that the ground would never return to its former glory.

An alternative venue needed to be found - in a different place and on more stable ground. An existing rugby league facility in Addington was the obvious choice, but a lot of the existing infrastructure needed an upgrade. There was no compromise on safety and design but the mandate was to have a stadium operational as quickly as possible.  

The AMI Stadium project was led by a workforce of 400 and constructed within an impressive 11 week period using 180,000 man-hours. The $20 million refurbishment delivered more than just a replacement facility.

Still best known as the home of Canterbury Rugby and the Crusaders franchise, AMI Stadium now has a seating capacity of over 18,000 for sporting events extending to 35,000 for concerts. A series of corporate box ‘pods’ were also built to be used for meetings and seminars, as well as hospitality on game days.   

The amazing turnaround was in part due to the materials specified, with COLORSTEEL® ENDURA® and AXXIS® being used as framing, roofing and cladding on the stands. These stands included prefabricated pods made out of Colorsteel® and AXXIS® Steel for Framing which were delivered on to the site and craned into place.