I went to Eden Park during the winter of 2011, three months or so before the Rugby World Cup. Upon seeing it for the first time, as I walked briskly towards it, one thing occurred to me; it was huge. In fact, as I got closer, it became colossal. Me and my parents entered the stadium to join up with the tour. The tour began in the first tier of the South Stand amongst the walkway where the concession stands are located. After being given general information about the stadium, we went to second tier of the East Stand where the additional seats were installed in the form of an added tier, which was done to accommodate more spectators for the Rugby World Cup since Eden Park was the venue for, most importantly, the Rugby World Cup Final amongst other matches. We continued along into the coaches' box, the home team's locker room and, most importantly, the tunnel where the players will come out from to the loud roar of the fans come September that year.
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| View of the West Stand from the coaches' box |
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| View from the coaches' box |
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| View from the players' tunnel |
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| View from the players' tunnel |
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| View from the East Stand |
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View from the South Stand
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| The ASB Bank Stand façade |
As we got off the bus into the drop off area, the cold winter air whipped through as the supporters wearing blue and white excitedly walked into the colossus that was Eden Park. Soon enough, it was our turn to enter the gates and embarked upstairs. Once we've reached the summit, the cold winter air was replaced by the sense of excitement and anticipation that will keep these spectators occupied for 2 hours or so. Eden Park played host to an ITM Cup between the home team, Auckland Blues, against Christchurch. When the game began, Christchurch were off the blocks quickly and it reflected in the scoreboard much to the disappointment of the crowd except for two Christchurch fans, sitting in front of us in the first tier of the South Stand, who were cheering like it's New Year's Eve. Once Auckland got going and started scoring, the crowd suddenly came to life with fans cheering, applauding and fist pumping the chilly air. Unfortunately, that was as good as it got for the home side for the home supporters as Auckland went to lose that match, albeit in a high scoring affair. As for the experience, it was quite unbelievable even if the stadium wasn't filled to capacity. After all, it was their sport being played at the very best.
