Whangārei events centre and stadium naming rights for sale after Toll deal ends

Naming rights for the Whangārei events centre and stadium on Okara Park, are for sale.

It has hosted Rugby World Cup games, league internationals and Fifa U20 World Cup matches as well as multiple concerts, sporting and community events.

But after eight years, the naming rights for the Whangārei events centre and stadium on Okara Park are for sale again, after a deal with long-time sponsor Toll came to an end.

The hunt is now on for a new corporate entity to put its name on the stadium that is the home of Northland rugby, and hosts dozens of other events every year, either on the playing field or the multi-level events centre in the grandstand.

"On behalf of the Northland Events Centre Trust, I would like to acknowledge Toll NZ and Toll Carriers for their support in the Northland community over the past eight years," Events Centre Trust chairman Alastair Wells said.

"It has been a valuable partnership for us and Toll Stadium has become a recognised brand for the centre across the region. A unique opportunity has now arisen for a new naming rights sponsor to come on board and be part of our vision to promote excellence in the event opportunities we have in Northland."

The cost of the sponsorship with Toll is commercially sensitive and has not been revealed.
Formerly known as Okara Park, the stadium has been home to Northland Rugby since 1965.

The publicly-owned stadium was redeveloped at a cost of around $16 million and reopened in June 2010 as Northland Events Centre. Since then it has hosted a number of high profile sporting events including the British & Irish Lions v NZ Barbarians last year, Rugby World Cup 2011, FIFA U20 World Cup 2015, Four Nations Kiwis v Samoa league test, NZ Maori v Barbarians, Vodafone Warriors and Super Rugby games.

Toll Stadium, as it was then, was packed when the British and Irish Lions played in Whangārei last year.

The stadium also hosts the iconic Whangārei Fritter Festival, has hosted five televised Mitre 10 Cup games, is home to the annual Christmas Festival and Lions Fireworks Spectacular and is base for the International Rally of Whangārei.

Other highlights have included a sellout Six60 concert earlier this year, Nitro Circus Live, local football and league events and it is booked out daily for meetings, conferences, weddings, expos and functions. Northland Events Centre attracts over 300 events per year and has a patronage of 80,000 – 100,000.

Interested parties can contact Venues & Events Manager Gary Parker-Nance at gary.parker-nance@wdc.govt.nz.