In less than a month, the All Blacks will run out on to McLean Park in Napier for a test match against Argentina.
This is such good news for our region and congratulations to the Hawke's Bay Rugby Union for securing this. A lot of hard work by the union, the Napier City Council and many others has gone into getting the fixture here and now it is up to us to support it.
From what I have been told, the preparations are going well and McLean Park will be transformed on the night into a venue befitting a test match. A temporary stand seating an extra 9500 people is being built, increasing the ground capacity to about 22,750.
Contrary to what you may have heard, there are still tickets available for the test. I would encourage you to get a ticket. You won't be disappointed.
The main thing is that we support events like this to ensure that we get more of these sort of matches here. History is littered with examples of events that never returned to cities and towns because the locals could not be bothered to support the occasion.
I am confident that this will not be the case for the test match at McLean Park on September 6. Hawke's Bay people know how to support such events and I am sure we will have a packed stadium on the night.
There was further good news yesterday, with the Napier City Council chief executive Wayne Jack indicating that an NRL rugby league game could be played in Napier next year.
So, if we support the All Blacks next month, it could be the start of many more big events coming to our province.
Get your ticket today!