Gisborne’s rugby community celebrated the completion of the John Heikell Grandstand at Rugby Park redevelopment today, marking the return of one of East Coast Tair\u0101whiti’s most iconic sporting venues and a significant achievement for the region.<\/p>\n
Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson joined Gisborne locals today to celebrate the reopening of the revitalised facility.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince opening in 1955, Rugby Park is one of New Zealand’s historic provincial rugby grounds. It has hosted legendary touring sides including the Springboks and the British & Irish Lions, and the ground has been graced by rugby icons such as Ian Kirkpatrick, Richard \u201cTiny\u201d White and Bob Scott.\u201d Mr Patterson says.<\/p>\n
\u201cHome of the Poverty Bay Rugby Union, it’s great to see the park restored as a premier facility for rugby and other sporting codes, and a place where locals can come together to celebrate major events.” <\/p>\n
The original grandstand closed in 2019 after assessments found it was no longer safe to use, with significant seismic deficiencies and deteriorating building materials.<\/p>\n
“With support from central government and local government partners, Rugby Park has been transformed into a modern, fit-for-purpose facility. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe redevelopment includes a new 900-seat covered grandstand, upgraded player and media facilities, a modern scoreboard, and extensive improvements to the park’s grounds and infrastructure,” Mr Patterson says.<\/p>\n
“It not only restores a treasured sporting venue but also strengthens the region’s ability to host major cultural and community events, attract visitors, and support local economic activity.”<\/p>\n
The project received $11.3 million in grant funding from the government for the rebuild. Co-funding for the project was provided by Trust Tair\u0101whiti and the Lottery Grants Board. The total project value is $12.5 million. <\/p>\n
“This investment helped support 26 local businesses during construction and kept money in the local economy, while building a facility that will serve Tair\u0101whiti for generations to come,” Mr Patterson says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gisborne’s rugby community celebrated the complet […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10164628679967220_110360201440802":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3315,"url":"https:\/\/nzchinesedailynews.co.nz\/?p=3315","url_meta":{"origin":8196,"position":0},"title":"\u4f53\u80b2\uff0f\u6587\u5316\u4e00\u77a5\uff1a\u65b0\u897f\u5170\u6a44\u6984\u7403\u961f\u8868\u73b0\u88ab\u5173\u6ce8","author":"\u7f16\u8f91\u90e8","date":"18\/11\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Rugby Union - 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