Fans at Christchurch’s new covered stadium sweltered through the NPC rugby final on Monday 26 October 2026, with temperatures in parts of the venue reaching 32.5°C.
The average temperature inside One New Zealand Stadium during the match was 28.6°C, up to 4.3 degrees warmer than outside. Fans bought about 4000 bottles of water, and six people needed medical help because of the heat.
For the first time in an NPC final, play was paused for water breaks. Canterbury came back from 21-10 down at halftime to beat Northland 43-24, winning their 16th NPC title and their second in a row.
Caroline Harvie-Teare, chief executive of Venues Ōtautahi, which runs the stadium, said there was no denying it was hot. “It did feel sauna-like,” she said. She explained that the hottest part of the day lined up with the 2pm kick-off, and the top seats were worst hit because heat rises and the sun was shining straight in.
The stadium has fans and louvres (slatted openings that let air through), but these only move the air around rather than cooling it. Air conditioning isn’t practical in such a huge space, so engineers are looking at other ways to improve airflow, such as adding more louvres or opening up the corners of the building.
The $683 million stadium opened in April this year, and the venue may also ask organisers to avoid holding games during the hottest times of the season.
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