Watch: The countdown is on 

With one year to go until One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha opens its doors, a new video released today, highlights the work done to date and provides a breakdown of the materials used so far on the $683 million project. 

Some of the highlights include 2,780 people being employed and putting in over 1.7 million work hours since work started in April 2022. 

The stadium includes 32,700 cubic metres of concrete and 16,300 tonnes of steel. 

600km of cabling runs throughout the stadium, along with 5km of air conditioning ducting. 

There are 22,000 sheets of GIB inside, and 11,500 square metres of steel sheeting, and 1,100 glass panes going in around the outside. 

Construction started in April 2022 and is on track to open in April 2026 - in one year's time.

One year until One NZ Stadium at Te Kaha opens 

The countdown is on until Christchurch’s new stadium opens its doors. 

Construction on One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha started in April 2022, and the $683 million project is on track to open in April 2026 – in one year’s time. 

Mayor Phil Mauger says the milestone is “great for the project and the city”. 

“There’s huge excitement in the community about One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha and all the benefits it will bring to Christchurch. People really can’t wait to get in there for sports matches, big concerts and everything in between,” says Mr Mauger. 

Te Kaha Project CEO David Kennedy says it’s been a “mammoth effort to get the project to this point”. 

“Lead contractor BESIX Watpac and all our sub-contractors have pulled out all the stops, and we’re in a great position to not only deliver one of the biggest infrastructure projects the country has seen, but to deliver it on budget and on time.” 

Faces of Te Kaha: Chelsea Pokaia

Position: Flooring Installer, Floortek Ltd

Day to day... I prepare and install flooring, including carpet, vinyl and timber. The stadium has carpet tiles, and a rubber flooring in the player warm up areas.

The best part of my job... being able to stand back at the end of a job and see it finished. It gives me a sense of pride.

Past projects: We do a lot of residential places, but also larger projects like Youthhub, which has a nice caulk flooring. We travel a bit for work and have done things like hotels in Queenstown.

Outside of work... play guitar and Hula Hoop, circus style.

Progress update

While many rooms and areas within the stadium are finished, there's still a lot happening across the site.

The foundations for the exterior stairs have been poured at the south end of the site, along Tuam Street. 

The stadium grounds are also being compacted and prepared for the paving and landscaping that will tie in with the adjoining Te Kaha Surrounding Streets works.

The photo above shows the temporary roof support towers being dismantled. Now that the roof structure works are complete, these are no longer needed.

The roof cladding installation is tracking well, progressing from the south to the north. One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha will be a completely covered venue, with part of the roof made of a clear material called Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE). The ETFE will let sunlight shine through from the north to support turf growth, while protecting visitors from the elements. The ETFE installation is now starting to be installed.

A small group of our neighbours took a tour of the worksite late last month. Here they are checking out the south stand, where food and beverage outlets are being built.

Open Christchurch site tour opportunity

Open Christchurch is an annual one-weekend-only festival of exceptional architecture. Over the first weekend in May, residents and visitors have the opportunity to tour a variety of sites around the city. 

There is one tour of the One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha construction site available. As numbers are limited, Open Christchurch are running a ballot to fill the twenty spots. 

Opportunities for larger numbers to tour the stadium will become available once construction is finished and the facility is handed over to the operators Venues Ōtautahi.

Te Kaha Streets progress update

The street upgrades around the new stadium are coming together. The final layer of asphalt was laid on Barbadoes Street last week and Tuam Street is now underway.

Madras Street will follow in the coming weeks, once the new cobblestones in the intersections have been installed.

People can expect to see a reduction in traffic management measures around the site once all the final asphalt is in, from late May.

Minor works like footpath paving, landscaping and traffic light commissioning will continue into the spring. 

Click below to visit the Isaac Construction website and learn more about what's happening on site.

Site progress photos

What to expect over the coming months

Due to the huge size of the project, different stages of work will overlap to streamline the process. That means as one phase of work progresses across the site (working from south to north), the next phase will follow closely behind it.

Q2 2025 - Roof and wall secondary steel will progress ahead of the roof and wall cladding continuing towards the north. External works around the arena will gain momentum as the external stairs are built. Internal fit-out works will continue in all stands including bowl metalwork and handrails.

Q3 2025 - The installation of roof and wall cladding will finish. External works will continue towards the north, fit-out works will continue within the stands, and final services commissioning will commence. Metalwork will continue to be installed in the seating bowl and the seats will start to be installed.