Plans for a new state-of-the-art turf in Petone as part of the Fifa Goal project will add up to 600 matches to the winter football calendar in Wellington.
Work is set to begin before Christmas on the $2 million upgrade of Memorial Park, which will house New Zealand Football's centraltechnical centre and Capital Football's headquarters.
The all-weather floodlit pitch is to be funded by $550,000 from Fifa, $500,000 from Hutt City Council and $450,000 from Capital Football, with the balance made up from community funding and sponsorship.
It will be the third project organised by New Zealand Football as part of the Fifa Goal project, following turf redevelopments at North Harbour Stadium in 2007 and Christchurch's ASB Football Park this year.
New Zealand Football chairman Frank van Hattum said the new field would help keep kids active and develop better footballers in the long-term.
"Access to facilities is the major constraint to football's growth not just in numbers but also in terms of quality. Projects like Memorial Park remove that barrier to participation.''
