Façade and seating design unveiled for Christchurch’s One New Zealand Stadium

Christchurch City Council has revealed the final look for the façade and seating pattern at One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha.

In images and a video released today, the multi-purpose stadium’s exterior façade will feature a pattern made up of 800 metres of steel sheeting in colours representing the local Canterbury landscape.

The design was undertaken by Morgan Darlison, a local visual artist and graphic designer appointed by the Council to develop a range of works to feature for the venue.

Commenting on the project, Darlison advised “one of the amazing things about this project is that we’re building something right in the middle of the city that we can use to reflect the natural landscapes around us. I think this is the one thing that connects us all as Cantabrians.”

On schedule to open in April 2026 opening, the One New Zealand Stadium will be a fully covered 25,000-seat venue, with capacity to accommodate 30,000 fans for large concerts and events. The stadium will be capable of hosting All Blacks matches.

The cladding installation will start next month on the south stand of the stadium along Tuam Street, progressing to the east and west. The last sheets will be fitted in the north stand in the middle of 2025.

In a first for New Zealand, the seating bowl will feature a kowhaiwhai pattern inspired by the hammerhead shark in black and grey. The first seats are set to be installed around April next year.

Dalison went on to state “on an international scale, this is how we present ourselves and this needs to have an impact. I went with a traditional kowhaiwhai pattern that is seen in most marae.”

The first seats will be installed around April next year.

Images: Concepts for the façade (top) and seating pattern (below) at One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha. Credit: Christchurch City Council.