Chiefs fans were out in force for the Anzac Day Super Rugby Pacific match between the Chiefs and Western Force at Mount Maunganui's Bay Oval. Photo / Getty Images
Chiefs fans were out in force for the Anzac Day Super Rugby Pacific match between the Chiefs and Western Force at Mount Maunganui's Bay Oval. Photo / Getty Images
As the Super Rugby Pacific season wraps up – with the Chiefs taking on the Crusaders in this weekend’s final – conversations are heating up about how to bring more top-level rugby to Mount Maunganui’s Bay Oval.
They follow the “hugely successful” Anzac Day match, where a sold-out crowd watchedthe Chiefs beat Western Force at the oval, best known for hosting international cricket.
Bay Oval Trust general manager Kelvin Jones said more than 11,000 tickets to the game were sold, with another 1000 people on the waiting list – not bad for its first time hosting Super Rugby. It was also the first Super Rugby game in Tauranga since 2013.
Jones said conversations about using the venue for professional rugby started last winter. After the success of the event, there was an appetite from both parties – Bay Oval and the Chiefs – to see if it could be repeated, if scheduling and circumstances allowed.
The Bay Oval had only a small timeframe to host rugby before preparations began for the next cricket season.
“At the end of a cricket season, there’s virtually no grass left on a cricket wicket. You essentially grow grass for cricket to kill it,” Jones said, explaining the process to convert the Bay Oval into a suitable field for rugby, or other sporting code.
“They only had 2.5 weeks from the last cricket game to the Chiefs game to make sure that they had new grass. Our ground staff did an amazing job.”
He said work to restore the ground for the international cricket season, beginning in October, was already well under way.
“You wouldn’t know there was a game of rugby there.”
Mount Maunganui's Bay Oval was transformed into a rectangular field for the Chiefs match. Photo / Getty Images
The success of the Chiefs game made the cost and time of configuring the Bay Oval worthwhile, Jones said – including about $20,000 to buy the goalposts.
He said he could not give specific figures around total costs to host the event but as a charitable trust, it would reinvest any profit back into the ground.
“All the costs and work aside, there’s a great community facility in the Bay Oval … and the fact that we’re able to have more community events is exactly how we should look at an asset like this.”
Jones said additions could be made to the Bay Oval to enhance its versatility.
“Dropping cricket pitches would add to the flexibility of the oval, and not just for rugby; things like concerts and those sorts of events. It’s an expensive asset, and it should be well-used.”
The Netherlands women's football team at a training session at the Bay Oval in 2023. Photo / Alex Cairns
He said the planned $220 million boutique stadium at Tauranga Domain – construction of which has been pushed back to 2033 – would not include enough seats for a Chiefs game, leading to an investment with limited benefit, in his view.
“The most effective option for the city is to make the most of what we’ve got,” Jones said.
Chiefs Rugby chief executive Simon Graafhuis said in a statement after the game that feedback had been “overwhelmingly positive” and the venue delivered “an unforgettable live sport experience”.
“It’s clear from the response that there’s plenty of appetite to bring top-tier rugby back to the regions.”
He said plans were being explored for a potential return in future seasons.
Emoni Narawa of the Chiefs gathers the ball to run in a try during the match at Bay Oval. Photo / Getty Images
Mount Maunganui Sports Club captain Graham McKean said the “hugely successful” Anzac Day game showed fans were hungry for professional rugby in the Bay, rain or shine.
“There was a huge amount of conviviality, a great spectacle, and socially, everyone enjoyed themselves.”
He said Bay Oval should be a “community-focused social hub” that could provide an international ground for multiple sports, including rugby sevens, rugby union, cricket and hockey.
McKean said with development, Blake Park could become a world-class, centralised hub for sports with similar potential to facilities in Melbourne – a city renowned for its events, all within strolling distance of one another.
Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale also lauded the success of the Chiefs v Western Force game.
“It was a fantastic event from a Tauranga perspective and good to have Super Rugby back, with our community out in force to support. We would welcome more games like this in the future.”
The scheduling challenges, however, meant there was a short window early in the winter sport season but “no opportunity for it to be a dual-purpose ground later in the season”.
A Tauranga City Council spokesperson said previous councils developed a set of integrated plans for Blake Park, Baypark and Tauranga Domain, envisioning that Blake Park and Bay Oval would continue to be available to host major sports and other events.
– Bijou Johnson is an intern reporter with the Bay of Plenty Times.
