Watch: sky-high stadium progress

Roof construction has passed the halfway mark at One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha.

A new drone video, released today, provides a close-up look at the progress on the $683 million construction project and commentary from BESIX Watpac Project Director Adrian Jones.

The structure for the north-west stand is now complete and 90% of the radial truss roof supports are in place. The steelwork for the roof structure has passed the halfway mark and will wrap up in the new year.  

Steel cladding on the exterior of the stadium started last Wednesday. The façade will feature a pattern made up of 800m of steel sheeting in colours representing the Canterbury landscape.

The Te Kaha Project remains on budget and on track for an April 2026 opening.

Faces of Te Kaha: Reece Hayman

Position: Foreman Roofer at Graham Hill Roofing.

Day to day I… work on the wall cladding team. My main task is helping out the team and making sure everything is installed right the first time, as there's no room for error. This is the first time I've worked on a pattern - usually we'd be installing a solid colour. We get a coded map, with each sheet numbered. Every sheet has to line up to the millimeter so the pattern joins up properly.

The best part of my job... looking at the end result. We put up three bays yesterday and it's hard to see when you're working up close because the pattern is on such a big scale, but when you stand back at the end of the day it's satisfying.

Past projects: We've worked on the Convention Centre, a few schools and the cardboard cathedral.

Outside of work... I've got a one and a half year old daughter that's my world.

December snapshot

Here's a look at the south stand, along Tuam Street, where the first section of exterior cladding is being installed. There will be over 800m of steel sheeting installed on the façade over the next six months. Windows have also recently been installed to this area.

Here's a closer look at the exterior cladding. The design has been created by local artist and graphic designer Morgan Darlison (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Porou, Tainui) and represents the natural features that surround the stadium on each side; Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū Banks Peninsula, Port Hills, Kā Tiritiri o te Moana Southern Alps, and Maukatere Mt Grey.

There will be 31 food and beverage outlets and bars throughout the venue. Progress on the south stand facilities is shown above. This area will also provide a view of the field of play.

The view above is from the west stand, looking towards the south stand, where the first sections of roof cladding have been installed. The roof cladding will progress from south to north, following behind the roof steel installation.

Above is a look at the hydraulic frames supporting the second roof truss. Work on the third (of four) roof trusses is now underway. Work on the roof trusses will continue into 2025. The east stand, along Barbadoes Street, can be seen in the distance. The last concrete seating plats are being installed in the lower stands.

Te Kaha Streets progress update

Work continues on upgrading the streets and water network around the stadium.

The watermain pipe upgrades are complete, the wastewater upgrades will wrap up early next year, and over half the new stormwater pipes have been installed. Overall, around 3.7km of new pipes have been installed since works started in August.

Roading upgrades are following the water works. In an exciting milestone for the project, the first paving stones were laid on Lichfield Street (west of the stadium) in mid-November. The entire south side of the road, including the footpath, will be finished ahead of the holidays. Work on the north side of the road will start on Monday 13 January.

Similarly, works on Madras Street will switch from the east lane to the west lane in the new year, with the final layer of road surfacing across both lanes being completed around mid-2025.

Works continue on Barbadoes Street and Tuam Street. In early 2025, works will start on Lichfield Street (east of the stadium) and Tuam Street (east of the stadium) and connecting intersections on Fitzgerald Ave from Monday 6 January. The majority of the works are on track to wrap up in mid-2025, with landscaping and other minor works continuing into late 2025.

Site progress photos

What to expect over the coming months

The next six months of the Te Kaha Project will see work continue on the superstructure bowl, roof installation, and internal fit-out.

Because of the huge size of the project, the different stages 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.

Q4 2024 - Radial trusses will continue to be installed at the northern end of the arena. Roof cantilevers will continue to be installed ahead of the roof steel erection that spans across the field of play. Cladding to the outside of the arena will commence and internal fit-out works will continue in all stands. Metalwork handrails will start being installed in the seating areas.

Q1 2025 - The final radial trusses will be installed at the northern end of the arena, and the roof truss installation will continue. Cladding will progress around the stadium to the east and west sides towards the north. Internal fit-out works will continue in all stands including bowl metalwork and handrails. External works around the arena will progress behind the cladding progress.