Safety first as Yarrow Stadium unavailable

A safety-first approach is behind the decision to make Yarrow Stadium in New Plymouth unavailable as the Mitre 10 Cup home base for the Yarrows Taranaki Bulls in 2018.

The stadium owner, the Taranaki Stadium Trust, says geotechnical testing on the stadium’s West Stand showed the ground stability of the bank beneath it was a significant earthquake risk. Reports into the West Stand were commissioned after a November report found the stadium’s East Stand was earthquake-prone.

“It’s a real blow and we apologise to everyone involved. The Trust informed key partners, including the TRFU, of the report’s findings yesterday,” says TST trustee, Mike Nield.

Mr Nield said it was too early to speculate on the future of the stadium but the TST would continue investigating the next steps.

“This is a blow but we remain committed to having a facility in Taranaki capable of hosting top-flight sporting events. We’ll be looking at our options and while the loss of Yarrow for 2018 is a setback, it gives us opportunities to look at some of the different choices available to us,” Mr Nield said.

Yarrow Stadium is owned by the Taranaki Stadium Trust. It is operated by the NPDC, who is offering its support to its partners.

“This is hugely disappointing for players and fans who will be inconvenienced but safety comes first. We take public and staff safety very seriously and have taken a proactive approach ever since issues were first discovered,” says Kelvin Wright, Chief Operating Officer for NPDC, as the operator of the venue.

ENDS

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