| Okara Park | |
|---|---|
| Location | Whangarei, New Zealand |
| Opened | 1965 |
| Renovated | 2008 |
| Surface | Grass |
| Capacity | 30,000 |
| Tenants | |
| Northland Rugby Union (1965–present) Northern Swords |
|
Okara Park is a multi-purpose stadium in Whangarei, New Zealand. It is currently used mostly for rugby union matches and is the home stadium of Northland Rugby Union. The stadium is able to hold 30,000 people and was built in 1965.
The park has recently had a $16m redevelpoment with the new grandstand known as the Northland Events Centre being built. The new development has turned Okara Park into a multi-purpose Northland sports hub.[1][2]
Despite Okara Park only having a capacity for 30,000 people at a stretch, there was a match of Rugby Union in 1979 where around 40,000 people crammed into the stadium thanks to its large embankment. The occasion for this record crowd was the defence by the local side, North Auckland, of the prized Ranfurly Shield against Auckland.
The stadium has held national games e.g. the New Zealand Māori beat the Tongan national side 66–7 at Okara Park in 1998. It has also hosted matches between Northland and touring international sides such as the British and Irish Lions, and Tonga, Samoa and Fiji in the last two decades.
Recently, Okara Park also hosted a match of the New Zealand Maori Rugby centenary series, with New Zealand Māori playing the New Zealand Barbarians in what was effectively an All Blacks trial match.
The stadium was used as a venue for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The stadium hosted two group stage matches.