North Harbour Stadium

North Harbour Stadium presents a low concrete base wrapped in a steel lattice roof that lifts well above the stands, a structure photographed in clear blue skies with two tall floodlight masts at either end.

The ground opened in 1997 as the home for the North Harbour rugby union team. It has been the home of the Moana Pasifika Super Rugby side since 2025, replacing the Chiefs who played there in the early years of the competition. The pitch is natural grass, a surface reinstated after a short-lived experiment with an artificial track in 2007. The capacity varies depending on the event; the configuration for the Auckland Tuatara baseball team in 2019 reduced the numbers for traditional football, though the arrangement reverted following the team’s departure in 2023.

It is not the largest venue in Auckland, but it holds its own. It hosted the final of the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup and four matches during the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The attendance record for a sporting fixture belongs to the 2008 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup final between North Korea and the USA. The stadium has also seen concerts by Roger Waters and Luciano Pavarotti. It was known as QBE Stadium between 2014 and 2019.