New Zealand's biggest netball crowd will pour into the Vector Arena tonight for its first test as a sports stadium, having already scored its first points with the Silver Ferns.
Netball New Zealand had sold just over 8000 tickets yesterday afternoon for the 9000-capacity seating - and arehoping to sell out today for the test between the world's top netball nations.
It is the first time Auckland has had a world-class stadium to host a New Zealand-Australia international.
The final of the 1999 world netball championships at the Westpac Arena in Christchurch drew 6100 to see the Ferns' heartbreaking one-goal loss to Australia. Two years later, the NZ-Australia test there filled 6900 seats.
Both teams trained at the Arena yesterday, on the polished maple floor laid especially for the event. The portable court was previously used for basketball at the TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre in Manukau, but has been resurfaced for the netball test.
Silver Ferns coach Ruth Aitken said her team were happy with the "grippy" surface they trained on for the first time yesterday, and the shooters liked the hoops.
Ferns shooter Maria Tutaia was struck by the size of the stadium, which she said was initially chilly, but doubted she would be troubled by the crowd noise tonight.
Organisers of this year's world netball championships will see how the stadium comes on, looking to move the final day of the tournament there from the smaller Waitakere Trusts Stadium in November.
