Food vendors at Christchurch’s One New Zealand Stadium have received a record-breaking payday of more than $700,000 from the venue’s opening week.
The $683 million venue features some of Christchurch’s favourite food outlets, including Bacon Brothers, Black Burger, Pedro’s, Smokey T’s, Sheffield Pie Shop and Fush, operating across 32 food and beverage stands.
Among the opening night offerings was a special double-fried steak-and-cheese pie sandwich for $17, created by the team at Christchurch restaurant Inati.
Venues Ōtautahi chief executive Caroline Harvie-Teare said last weekend’s Super Round, in which all Super Rugby fixtures were played at the stadium, delivered a record weekend for most vendors.
“After breaking their records for their best-ever turnover on the opening Friday night, they smashed those numbers to set new records the very next day on the Saturday of Super Round.
“The Venues Ōtautahi and Christchurch City Council-hosted Community Open Day was another fantastic opportunity for our vendors to showcase their food.
“The 32,000-strong community who attended that day responded with huge demand to trial some of the amazing kai we have available.”
Harvie-Teare said the selection of food at the stadium made it a destination in its own right.
“One New Zealand Stadium provides us with an incredible opportunity to showcase our region’s amazing kai.
“There are so many amazing spots to eat across Waitaha, Canterbury, which has allowed us to bring together such an eclectic array of vendors.”
The venue was not only about celebrating the region but also providing a platform for local success.
“This philosophy supports the Venues Ōtautahi commitment to contribute positively to the social, cultural, environmental and economic wellbeing of the region and to wherever we can celebrate and source local.
“To date, across the first six days of operation, Venues Ōtautahi have paid over $700,000 to our local food collective.
“What an incredible start, and what a platform for the future when it comes to not only the economic contribution to the region, but for the future success of these operators inside and out of the venue.
“With another 25,000 sell-out tonight for the Crusaders versus Blues and again next weekend with 37,000 guests for Once in a Lifetime, we look forward to seeing the magnitude of transactions for our retail partners across the coming six days.”
Harvie-Teare said Venues Ōtautahi undertook an expression of interest process in July last year, in which potential food and drink vendors could submit their proposals.
“We were incredibly impressed with the standard and quality of submissions.”
Submissions were assessed against eight key criteria, including capability and experience in similar venue or event settings, operational excellence and scalability, and consistency of food quality alongside compliance with safety standards.
The assessment also considered alignment with Venues Ōtautahi’s food concept framework, commitments to environmental, ethical and social impact, and local sourcing.
Innovation, added value to the guest experience, pricing and commercial sustainability also played a role in the final assessment.
The successful vendors were announced in November.
After the opening weekend, Crusaders chief executive Colin Mansbridge said the success of the event was undeniable.
“Seeing the city come alive, the buzz of the fans lining the streets and the atmosphere inside the new stadium was just magic.
“It’s reminded us how much joy people get from coming together, watching some great games of Super Rugby, and celebrating not only our great game, but a special night for the people of Christchurch.”
The opening marked the first time a Super Round had been held in New Zealand after previous editions in Melbourne from 2022 to 2024.
Construction on the stadium began in April 2022, making it the largest project undertaken by Christchurch City Council.
About 4000 people contributed to the build, delivering approximately 2.4 million work hours.
The venue has four changing rooms and dedicated warm-up areas, 23 private suites and a function space capable of hosting up to 900 people.
Spectators get uninterrupted views of the field throughout the stadium.
Attention to detail has extended to the playing surface, with the turf grown on the outskirts of Christchurch using a specialised seed blend.
Local visual artist and designer Morgan Darlison has contributed a range of artworks that feature throughout the stadium and the surrounding Te Kaharoa precinct.