New Zealand to Move International Cricket Away from Eden Park in Auckland

The world cricket governing body International Cricket Council (ICC) came to a step closer in their potential move to take cricket away from the Eden Park in Auckland.

The decision was taken that the Western Springs will be left as a cricket stadium in 2020. The venue is very close to the Auckland Zoo. It is also a place for numerous outing spots, several outdoor music concerts. The Eden Park earlier served as a permanent site for International cricket in the largest city of New Zealand.

The decision was eventually supported by New Zealand Cricket (NZC). They have been left handicapped after the new configuration of the Eden Park into a rectangular venue.

Moreover, it also hosts rugby matches and there is also a number of restriction on the amount of event it can hold from time-to-time.

“There’s been a stand-off between Regional Facilities Auckland and Speedway for such a long time and I want to give credit to the speedway for saying, ‘look, it’s time for us to move to a new home’,” Auckland Mayor Phil Goff was quoted as saying by TV3.

Goff confirmed the fact that there has been an agreement made to move cricket from the stadium.

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“It does free up the potential of Western Springs for further development, and of course New Zealand Cricket’s really interested in that … but that’s a little way down the track yet,” he added.

Eden Park is a historic venue as far as New Zealand cricket is concerned. The stadium hosted its first international match way back in 1930. It has served as a happy hunting ground for New Zealand.

The spectacular venue also includes New Zealand’s exceptional victory against South Africa in the semifinal clash of the 2015 ICC World Cup.

Meanwhile, New Zealand management has been investigating for years to leave the venue. It is especially after it was redesigned due to the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

It reduced the size of the playing arena and produced very short boundaries. The stadium didn’t quite meet with the ICC’s standards.

Several restrictions as it is surrounded by residential neighbours:

While it has remained the preferred venue for limited-overs clashes for its capacity to hold about 50,000 spectators, it has only hosted three Tests since 2006.

It includes New Zealand’s first-day night Test against England earlier this year. There are also several restrictions as Auckland surrounded by residential neighbours.

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