A Look Into Australia and New Zealand’s Women’s World Cup Stadiums

Since it was announced in 2020, Australia and New Zealand have been preparing to host the 32 national teams for the 2023 Women’s World Cup. An important task is figuring out where the teams will play. This year, Australia will have six stadiums, and New Zealand will have four, making ten stadiums for the teams to compete in.

 

Australia’s Stadiums

Lang Park

Lang Park is located in Brisbane, Queensland. While originally meant for rugby, it is used for soccer as well. The construction of this stadium started in the early 1900s but was modernized in 2011. Currently, Lang Park has hosted historic events such as a Rugby World Cup Final, and Taylor Swift performed there during her tour.

 

Hindmarsh Stadium

Built in 1960, Hindmarsh Stadium is the official stadium of Adelaide United, an Australian professional soccer team in South Australia. The stadium’s current capacity is 16,500 but has been redesigned to hold a greater capacity in time for the World Cup.

 

Melbourne Rectangular Stadium

This stadium is one of the newer locations to compete, having been built in 2010. The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium is a venue meant to host either soccer or cricket. The stadium includes modern features, such as a dome covering seating, extra training facilities, and LED lights. To accommodate the World Cup, there has since been $25 million to improve old features.

 

Perth Rectangular Stadium

This stadium is known for hosting soccer and rugby games along with plenty of concerts. There have been soccer matches held at this venue since 1903, but renovations began in 2004. The stadium is the only rectangular-shaped stadium in the city. It is currently the home stadium for a local professional soccer team, Perth Glory.

 

Stadium Australia

Stadium Australia, located in Sydney, Australia, held its first games in 1999. In 2002, the venue underwent construction that would allow more sports to be played there, such as rugby and cricket. Most recently, in 2023, renovations were made to the stadium to accommodate the World Cup. There were improvements in the changing rooms and media facilities that cost $81 million.

 

Sydney Football Stadium

The Sydney Football Stadium is another one of the most recent venues that will hold games for the 2023 Women’s World Cup. This stadium will replace one of the original stadiums built there. The Sydney Football Stadium was revealed in 2022. Along with being a venue for the 2023 Women’s World Cup, it will also hold games for the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

 

New Zealand Stadiums

Forsyth Barr Stadium

The Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin has already held multiple international games, such as the 2011 Rugby World Cup and the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup. The stadium itself is fully covered and is the world’s first fully enclosed grassed stadium. The range of sports that you can play there is much more versatile than most stadiums, but it can additionally hold other large-scale events such as concerts.

 

Eden Park

Eden Park is considered New Zealand’s national stadium. It has hosted sporting events since 1900. The land used to belong to the Tamaki Māori, but their land was bought by a farmer in 1845. Since then, there have been multiple renovations to accommodate the large number of international events held there for soccer, rugby, and cricket.

 

Waikato Stadium

The stadium was used for rugby games in 1925, where Waikato beat its international opponents with a crowd of 31,000 people. The stadium currently has lounges and commentary rooms for private functions but also hosts different sports on the field.

 

Wellington Regional Stadium

The Wellington Regional Stadium was built in 1999 and has held a notable number of games and events. They have hosted World Cup qualifying matches and concerts like The Rolling Stones and Guns N’ Roses.

 

Featured image via @edenparknz on Instagram

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