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Eden Park expects to be one of the host venues for next year's All Black test programme, claiming it's business as usual despite major renovations being carried out.
Capacity at the stadium will drop to 32,000 as a consequence of the destruction of the South Stand but the
number of hospitality suites will remain high due to the availability of the No 2 field that backs on to Sandringham Road.
Even though capacity has fallen from 46,000 to 32,000, Eden Park will still be the second biggest major stadium in the country next year, as AMI Stadium in Christchurch is also in the midst of renovations. Its capacity will be around 21,000. Wellington's Cake Tin, at almost 34,000, will be the biggest venue in the country.
The All Blacks are scheduled to play France twice in June, then Italy, followed by two tests against the Wallabies and one against South Africa.
This year Wellington and Auckland were awarded two tests each, with Christchurch and Dunedin picking up tests against England and South Africa respectively.
It is almost certain that Westpac Stadium will host at least one Wallaby test and probably also one of the games against France. Eden Park is likely to pick up the other test against Australia.
"We have reached an agreement to make Eden Park available for both international rugby and cricket for the next two years," said Eden Park Trust chief executive John Alexander.
"We will have some temporary seating in front of the South Stand that is going to offer some fans a fantastic place to watch rugby from."
Alexander said he is expecting to hear from the New Zealand Rugby Union in the next week or so where they intend to play tests in 2009.
Assuming Wellington and Auckland pick up three tests between them, it is probable Christchurch will be the venue for the South Africa test, with Dunedin winning the right to host the French.
The Italian test is expected to be given to a smaller venue, with Waikato, North Harbour and New Plymouth hoping to get lucky.
The allocation of All Blacks tests is one of the more contentious issues for the NZRU. Hosting a test can boost a local economy by millions of dollars and the NZRU has a stated policy of spreading games across the country to give more people an opportunity to see the All Blacks live.
Against that, though, they need to maximise returns from ticket and corporate hospitality sales, which is why Eden Park has usually hosted two tests every year since 2004.
But 2009 and 2010 sit as awkward years with both Eden Park and AMI Stadium offering a reduced number of seats as well as the slightly surreal experience for fans of being partial building sites.
Alexander acknowledged that with one side of the ground out of bounds and under construction, the Eden Park Trust and the NZRU will have to work hard to improve the spectator experience next year. Some careful thought will also have to be given to ticket prices.