Carisbrook

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For the village on the Isle of Wight, see Carisbrooke. For the castle, see Carisbrooke Castle.

Carisbrook
"The House of Pain"

Location	Dunedin, New Zealand
Coordinates	45°53′36.88″S, 170°29′25.71″E
Broke ground	1881
Opened	1883
Owner	Carisbrook Ground Company
Tenants
Otago Rugby Football Union Highlanders Otago Volts
Capacity
29,000

Carisbrook is a major sporting venue in Dunedin, New Zealand. The city's main sporting venue, it is an international venue for both rugby union and cricket, it has also been used for other sports such as soccer. Floodlit since the 1990s, it can cater for both day and night fixtures. Known locally simply as "The Brook", it is also often known by the name "The House of Pain", due to its solid reputation as a difficult venue for visiting teams.

Located at the foot of The Glen, a steep valley, the ground is flanked by the South Island Main Trunk Railway and the Hillside Railway Workshops, two miles southwest of Dunedin city centre in the suburb of Caversham. State Highway 1 also runs close to the northern perimeter of the ground.

Carisbrook was named after the estate of early colonial settler James Macandrew (itself named after a castle in the Isle of Wight). Developed during the 1870s, it was first used for international cricket in 1883, when Otago hosted a team from Tasmania. It has been hosting rugby union internationals since 1908 and full cricket internationals since 1955.

The stadium is home to the Otago rugby team in the Air New Zealand Cup and to the Highlanders Super 14 rugby team. It is the former home of Otago cricket,which moved to the University Oval at Logan Park in the north of the city after the redevelopment in the early 2000s.

[edit] Unique atmosphere

The ground's capacity is around 29,000. Until recent years, the sides of a major road overlooking the ground were known as the "Scotsman's Grandstand", from which a free view of the action could be easily obtained. The development of a new stand and corporate boxes on that side of the ground during the 1990s have rendered this tradition a thing of the past.

Due, at least in part, to Dunedin's sizable number of tertiary students (20,000 of the city's 120,000 population), Carisbrook has a unique atmosphere, particularly for major games. This is also partly due to the terraces, an uncovered concrete embankment at the eastern end of the ground—reputedly the last open terracing at any major sports venue in New Zealand.

The combination of students and terraces can occasionally be responsible for as much excitement and activity in the crowd as on the ground itself—on many occasions, groups (mainly "Scarfies", the colloquial term for University of Otago students) on the terraces set fire to the sofas they had carried to the ground as their own comfortable terrace seating. Mexican waves are also known to become unruly, often involving previously emptied beer cans that have been "recharged" by the crowd - this is especially true when the opportunity arises to throw the cans at Australian supporters.

[edit] The future of Carisbrook

By the beginning of the 21st century, the ground in general and the terraces in particular were under threat. The demands of modern international sport led to calls for the ground to be significantly upgraded or replaced, with most proposals calling for the Carisbrook terraces to be replaced with seats.

On the August 9, 2006, it was announced that the current incarnation of Carisbrook would be retired and that a new covered stadium, like the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff would be built.

Based in North Dunedin within the University of Otago vicinity, between Logan Park and the edge of the Otago Harbour, and close to the mouth of the Water of Leith the stadium would be expected to be ready for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Construction and ownership of the stadium would be overseen by the Carisbrook Stadium Trust, led by a former local Dunedin city counsellor (and dentist), Malcolm Farry. The stadium would be built in collaboration with the University of Otago and could include sports research facilities and perhaps a new university gymnasium.

In February, 2007 more details about the proposed new stadium were released. It will have 25,000 permanent seats, with the ability to add temporary seating, bringing total capacity to 30,000. The stadium would also be equipped with a clear plastic roof, making it New Zealand's only enclosed rugby stadium. The projected cost is $188 million (NZD), and will be funded in part by the Dunedin City Council.

It is yet to be announced if the stadium would be named Carisbrook, but it is current talked about in the media as "The Glasshouse". It is likely the stadium will be named after a naming-rights sponsor.