Football: Eden Park faces million dollar upgrades for women's Fifa World Cup

The Super Rugby match between the Blues and the Hurricanes played at Eden Park. Photo / Dean Purcell

The awarding of the 2023 FIFA women's World Cup to the joint New Zealand-Australia bid will require millions of dollars to be spent on Eden Park.

The country's largest stadium is likely to host the opening game of the tournament, however for it to do so, and be allowed to hold other games, several upgrades will be required.

According to the FIFA bid evaluation report, "The floodlighting at the stadium is currently below the FIFA minimum requirements and would need upgrading or replacing if the bid succeeded and Eden Park were confirmed as a match venue.

"The main tribune is the South Stand which faces the sun during matches that kick off in the afternoon, which is not ideal, particularly for a stadium that is proposed for staging the opening match. The outdoor area proposed for hospitality would also need to be doubled in size if Eden Park were confirmed as the venue for the tournament's opening match."

It's an issue that other venues around the country will need to improve on, with Wellington's Sky Stadium and Christchurch's Orangetheory Stadium also not meeting the required lighting standards.

However it's also understood there will be further refurbishments at Eden Park, in order to improve the stadium, ahead of the women's cricket and rugby World Cups to be held here next year.

"Key to the successful delivery of these events will be implementation of event-specific upgrades at the 117 year old venue," Eden Park CEO Nick Sautner told the Herald.

"This includes stadium field lighting, gender appropriate changing room renovations, bilingual signage installation, elevator and CCTV upgrades, installation of a replay screen, turnstile replacement, acoustic barrier installation and the creation of an external footbridge connecting to Kingsland train station."

The exact costs for such wide-ranging upgrades at Eden Park are still being discussed, with the stadium not wanting to go into further detail.

"We're working through the detail on the venue-specific upgrades, and that will be consistent with all venues across New Zealand," Sautner said.

While the amounts may seem intimidating, the required action isn't a surprise to Sautner.

"During negotiations with MBIE and New Zealand Football it was acknowledged and accepted that a number of the New Zealand venues proposed would require upgrades to comply with FIFA's minimum standards," he said.

"This is similar to other World Cup events held at Eden Park including the 2011 Rugby World Cup and 2015 Cricket World Cup. A number of other stadia have received funding in recent years from their local councils to replace stadium lighting which includes Mount Smart, Seddon Park, Bay Oval and Hagley Oval.

"We look forward to working with ATEED, the wider Auckland Council family and the Government to ensure that our facilities are world-class to deliver three successful World Cup tournaments in three years."

It's a challenge Sautner is welcoming. The Cricket World Cup is still scheduled to take place next February and March, Covid-19 permitting, with the Rugby World Cup in September and October. The Football World Cup will be in July and August 2023.

But who will foot the bill?

"We'll be working with MBIE, New Zealand Football and the Auckland Council family to ensure we can deliver these three World Cup events over the next three years. This will be a game-changer for New Zealand sport. I'm just excited that Eden Park can play its part in developing women's sport in this country," Sautner said.

Government invested $190m in upgrades at Eden Park to enable the 2011 Rugby World Cup to be held, but Sautner knows the necessity for further improvements.

"Eden Park was central to securing the Rugby World Cup in 2021 and central in the FIFA women's World Cup bid, as the opening stadium for the event.

"We're committed to working with the parties as mentioned, to ensure we comply with the requirements, but also provide that escapism for Kiwis, and to showcase New Zealand to the world."