Steamers game gets fanzone

Rugby fever is set to fill Tauranga's city centre as the Bay of Plenty Steamers take on the Waikato Mooloos at the Tauranga Domain this Sunday. Photo / George Novak

Excitement is building as rugby fever is expected to flood Tauranga's waterfront ahead of the ITM Cup match this weekend.

There will be a "fanzone" along Wharf St and The Stand between 11am and 2.30pm before the Bay of Plenty Steamers and the Waikato Mooloos go head-to-head at the Tauranga Domain this Sunday.

About 3500 extra seats have been recruited to make room for fans expected to fill out the new and exciting new venue.

The Domain saw a 7000-strong crowd at this year's Anzac Day commemorations.

Bay of Plenty Rugby sales and relationships manager Craig Wilson said preparations had gone smoothly and the new venue proved to be exciting for the city. "It's been really good. It's been a blank canvas to create a rugby ground but things have gone really well," Mr Wilson said.

"We've had all the people who have the skills to put an event like this together so it's been going relatively smoothly.

The temporary grandstand would be arranged in rows of the home team's colours of blue and gold which would make for stand-out visuals on live broadcast, Mr Wilson said.

"It will be quite a thing to be part of and people will get a free poncho."

Although tickets are not sold out as of yet, the main grandstand of the domain saw only a few seats left.

He said "fantastic" support from Tauranga City Council meant the event was now a reality.

This month, Mayor Stuart Crosby said that the council of the day "did a pathetic job" for fans during the 2011 Rugby World Cup, but he was confident the new council would deliver for Sunday's match.

"The aspects of it are supporting our CBD and also demonstrating that The Domain has a future," Mr Crosby said.

"I think this rugby game will demonstrate that the community would love to have rugby back at The Domain at a higher level."

Pre-game hype was expected to set the scene at the fanzone before performers led the way through the main routes to the Domain for 2.35pm kick-off.

Tauranga Samba, the Bay Twisters and Tauranga Highland Band will perform while fans enjoy the atmosphere at the dining precinct. Traffic access would be closed along the Strand to allow people a fanzone pre-game experience along the waterfront.