With a capacity of just under 50,000 people, Eden Park is the biggest stadium in New Zealand where thousands have witnessed some of the country’s most memorable sporting moments.
If you get the chance to watch sport at Eden Park, do it. But the same goes for a tour where you get to go behind the scenes in an awesome learning opportunity and experience (I’m assuming you’re interested in sport).
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Details | Tour experience | How to get there | Who plays there? |Alternative experiences
DETAILS ABOUT THE EDEN PARK STADIUM TOUR
Rating?1
The only reason I don’t give this 5-stars is because of the time, it was way too long, 50 minutes longer than expected. Otherwise, the tour was great. We got to go on the field, had a tour guide who loves Een Park, had lots of useful information and we got to go into all the places you expect to go when you’re on a stadium tour. The stories were just too long though. Oh and the tours are overpriced (they were $34 when I went).
Tour Times3: Thursday and Friday 5pm. Weekends at 2pm. (as of June 2020)Price4:
Adults: $20
Concesson (student/senior): $15
Children (12 & under): $10
Family (2 adults & 2 childern): $50
Deals5: A 10% discount
THE EDEN PARK STADIUM TOUR EXPERIENCE
On an overcast Thursday afternoon tour in early summer, there were five of us taking the Eden Park tour, led by the passionate Graham. He mentioned the tour groups rarely reach more than 10 people but what surprised me most was that locals rarely took the tour. I thought that as one of the countries most iconic venues it’d get a steady stream of local visitors.
To start Graham took us up high into the stadium where he talked about his experience with Eden Park which tied in nicely with lots of interesting bits of history about Eden Park. He has lived nearby for the majority of his life and was an employee for several years. Now in his 70’s his love for the place is evident, and loved sharing his stories with us. He was truly a wealth of knowledge and I enjoyed learning about the preparation for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
In between stories and facts, we moved around the stadium. After starting off with a nice view of the playing field we moved to the pitch through the player’s tunnel, went into the coach’s box, a corporate box, and the changing rooms.
We also went onto the outer oval which helped us learn about the preparations involved in growing the grass to be used for the various sports. We then got our moment on the field itself, we weren’t allowed to wander too far, but you can definitely let your imagination flow!
With the small group size, there’s no issue with not getting an opportunity for photos which is handy. There’s no museum or anything attached to the stadium so once that was finished, it was time to head back to the CBD.
A few things I learned from the tour:
- For the 2011 Rugby World Cup they expanded the capacity to 60,000 people to meet the International Rugby Board’s requirements.
- There’s a room in the stadium that contains a massive rock. It was way too big to move during stadium upgrades so they built around it.
- They grow cricket pitches outside the stadium. Weighing 20 tonnes, they have a special tray for the pitch that takes just one hour to insert! This enables them to alternate between rugby and cricket easily.
- The 72 corporate boxes each fit 16-20 people. At a cost of $70,000-100,00/year, they give access to all ~35 events each year (catering not included).
- There can be up to 250 chefs working inside at any one time inside the Eden Park kitchen, the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.
WHAT TEAMS PLAY AT EDEN PARK?
Rugby: Auckland Blues (schedule)
Rugby: Auckland Rugby (schedule)
Cricket: Auckland Aces – outter oval (schedule)
One-off events (e.g. All Blacks matches) and concerts are also held at the stadium throughout the year (full schedule here).
HOW TO GET TO EDEN PARK
Thanks to the great location, you can get there in a few different ways. The official address is: Reimers Avenue, Kingsland, Auckland 1024, New Zealand (Google Maps link)
Walking: From Britomart you can walk 4.4km to the stadium but it’s not a great walk. Following the Google Maps route, it took me about an hour.
Driving: There’s car parking available at Gate G Cark Park P5 on Reimers Ave.
Public Transport: This is a good option if you’re in downtown Auckland. You can catch the WEST line (towards Swanson) from Britomart to Kingsland.
ALTERNATIVES TO THE EDEN PARK TOURS
Maintaining a professional sports stadium year-round is an expensive affair. Eden park staff are keenly aware of the fact they usually only have 3-0-40 professional events a year. So what they’ve done is begun creating alternative experiences that the public can enjoy, beyond attending games, events and taking the stadium tour. The offers include:
- Haka on the park
- A rooftop tour
- Glamping (yes, actually)
- Zip-lining (coming soon)
You can read more about these activities here.
Let me know if you take the Eden Park stadium tour or other experiences! I’d love to hear your thoughts.
What to read next:
Hey, it’s Jub here. I’m the guy behind Chur New Zealand, helping you have the best time hiking, trekking, walking…whatever you want to call it…in NZ. I’m based in Queenstown and am always out and about exploring trails, old & new. If you have any questions, reach out.