What sports will fill Auckland's new Waterfront Stadium?

It's time for Auckland to look for a summer code.

For a city long reliant on rugby, league and various international fixtures to fill its sporting calendar, the introduction of a new 50,000 seat waterfront stadium will come with some worries.

Foremost, will it sit all but empty over the summer months?

The venue is expected to displace both Eden Park and Mt Smart Stadium in hosting the city's various teams. Looking at the schedule for this summer, it translates to 19 cricket matches across all three formats – only three of which are international clashes.

The stadium would host the Blues, Auckland Rugby and Warriors, as well as men's and women's international fixtures from mid-February through to late October. In the current formats each of these teams work within, the ground would likely between 30 and 40 matches – enough to feed the appetite of the local sports fans.

But from early November to mid-February, outside of a few cricket matches, there is nothing noteworthy.

You'd imagine the powers that be have a plan. Then again, they do have as many as 10 years to come up with one. Perhaps it provides reason to bring an A-League franchise back to the City of Sails, or try to lure the Auckland Tuatara – the country's only professional baseball team – away from their nest at QBE Stadium for their Australian Baseball League home games.

This season, the Wellington Phoenix will host as many as 17 games, while the Auckland Tuatara will host at least 12 games, with potential for hosting rights in the playoffs. That number will increase last year when they officially move into QBE Stadium, which will give the side another eight games in Auckland.

The A-League and ABL run at perfect times to fill the void open by a lack of summer fixtures; with the former running from mid-October to mid-May and the latter mid-November to early February.

With the A-League running well into May, if fixtures clashed it would provide an opportunity for either the football or rugby team to travel to other parts of the wider Auckland region or around the country to showcase their products.

Granted there's a reason the current A-League franchise was moved away from Auckland to Wellington, but if the product is good, the people will come out in support – and a brand new stadium will only help that.

While the arena will also host various cultural and entertainment events too, a reliable sporting schedule year after year would ensure it's a worthwhile investment.

Stadium usage by sport in 2018/19 seasons

Rugby League

NRL (early March to early September): The Warriors played 12 matches at Mt Smart Stadium, the Wests Tigers and Melbourne Storm also faced off at the venue.

International (October): The Kiwis, Kiwi Ferns and Junior Kiwis all played one match at the ground, while it will host Tonga v Australia on Saturday night.

Rugby

Super Rugby (mid-February to early August): The Blues played eight matches at Eden Park this season.

Mitre 10 Cup (mid-August to late-October): Auckland will play their sixth match of the season at Eden Park on Friday in the first semifinal. If they win, they'll host the final too.

International (June and August): The All Blacks played at Eden Park twice; the Black Ferns played there once.

Cricket

Domestic (mid-October to mid-March): The Auckland Aces and Hearts will combine to play 16 matches across three formats at Eden Park's Outer Oval.

International (early 2018 and 19): Eden Park hosted two Twenty20 internationals and a test in early 2018. The Black Caps will play two Twenty20 internationals at Eden Park early next year (January 11 and February 8); the White Ferns will play one (February 8).