Central city  |  29 Aug 2024

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From bare bones to a nine-storey landmark - a new timelapse video captures eight months of steady progress on Christchurch’s new stadium

The video starts in November 2023, just ahead of work beginning on the roof support structure and culminates with the first section of roof being installed in the south stand along Tuam Street last week.

“We have a team of around 350 currently working on site to deliver the project, and collectively we’ve just hit the one million work hours mark. It’s great to be able to look back and see how far we’ve come,” says Te Kaha Project Delivery Chief Executive David Kennedy.

“Week to week, the team on site are making noticeable progress. The seating bowl, hosting facilities in the west stand, and the roof structure are all tracking well,” says Mr Kennedy.

Twenty-eight of the 37m tall roof supports, known as radial trusses, have now been fabricated and welded together around the seating bowl.

“We will finish up the last twelve radial trusses early next year, and continue installing the roof into mid-2025,” says Mr Kennedy.

The roof will be made of steel and a clear material called Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE).

The video also captures progress on the seating bowl, including the installation of 1188 concrete seating plats. These L-shaped structures form the tiered shape of the stands.

“The remaining 500 seating plats are being installed in the lower stands, and will soon start in the northwest stand. Then we will move on to installing handrails, stairs and seats,” says Mr Kennedy.

Te Kaha will have 25,000 permanent seats, with the option of adding 5000 more seats for large sporting events. The arena will have a capacity of up to 36,000 when in concert mode.

The Te Kaha Project remains on budget and on track for an April 2026 opening.

For more information and to sign up for email updates, visit tekahaproject.co.nz