No rugby at new Waikato Stadium this year

4.00 - By KEVIN TAYLOR

No rugby will be played at Hamilton's new Waikato Stadium this year after the trust behind the $26 million project admitted it was two months behind schedule.

Five home NPC rugby matches will now have to be played at the neighbouring WestpacTrust Park cricket ground, where nearly 3000 temporary seats will be installed.

Stadium trust chairman David Braithwaite today confirmed the two-month delay after weeks of speculation. The original completion date had been August 24.

He said there was no cost overrun at this stage.

The news of the delay in finishing the home of Waikato rugby came after five Chiefs players were included in the All Black squad announced on Sunday. Of the seven newcomers to the squad, four are Chiefs players.

Already this season all home Chiefs games have had to be played in Tauranga, Taupo or Rotorua because the stadium was unfinished.

Waikato Rugby Union chief executive Gary Dawson said the union was still working out what the delay would cost. WestpacTrust park can hold 14-16,000 while the new stadium will hold 27,000. Home crowds for NPC matches last season averaged 10,000.

Mr Braithwaite blamed the delay on a two-month holdup late last year in getting final funding approval from the Hamilton City Council and WEL Energy Trust.

Work on the twin stadium project - a $26 million redevelopment of Rugby Park and $2.5 million upgrade to WestpacTrust Park - started at the end of November.

It followed months of local political bickering as the trust worked to secure guaranteed funding.

Mr Braithwaite said at a press conference today the trust had intended to start work early last October, but funding holdups meant site excavation did not start until mid-December.

The delays also meant steel originally ordered for an October start date was unavailable when the project's funding was finally approved.

No new date has been set for the stadium's completion. The WestpacTrust park upgrade is nearly finished now.

The five home games are against Counties, August 12; Wellington, August 24; Taranaki, September 1; Bay of Plenty, September 22; and Otago, September 29.