2012 In July 2012, the Christchurch Central Development Unit released their 100-day blueprint also known as the
Christchurch Central Recovery Plan. The plan included a new permanent 35,000-seat multi-purpose sports and entertainment venue as an anchor project within a scheme for a future city vision. The site is bounded by Tuam, Madras, Hereford and Barbadoes Streets. The Government took responsibility for acquiring the land needed for the stadium.
2017 The government Minister supporting Greater Christchurch Regeneration
Nicky Wagner and
Christchurch City Council published a "Pre-Feasibility Study" for a multi-use arena. This did not consider any options with 35,000 seats, due to the high cost, and the general consensus among stakeholders (except for International Rugby) was that that capacity was higher than Christchurch needed.
2021 In March 2021, a consortium of businesses were confirmed as the successful tenderer for designing and building the Canterbury Multi-Use Arena. The group known as Kōtui is led by Australian-based stadium construction company
BESIX Watpac and also includes the Christchurch-based Southbase Construction and
Fulton Hogan, local seismic engineers Lewis Bradford, Christchurch architects
Warren and Mahoney, and global stadium design companies Populous and
Mott MacDonald. The land that the stadium sits on was gifted the name Te Kaharoa ("enduring strength" in Māori) by the local
hapū (sub-tribe) Ngāi Tūāhuriri in 2021. The city's mayor
Lianne Dalziel said that Te Kaharoa reflected Canterbury's "determination and fierce spirit". On 14 July, the Christchurch City Council voted to sign a $683 million contract to build Te Kaha. This will require the council to invest an extra $150 million, which they plan to do by increasing rates. The $150m increase in costs in 2022 was blamed by councillors on the combined economic effects of the
COVID-19 pandemic, the
war in Ukraine and
COVID-19 lockdowns in China. The council received 30,000 submissions about the stadium, with 77% being in favour. Barry Bragg, the Te Kaha project delivery board chairman, said it was a fixed price contract, meaning that there will be no further increases of the cost of the project.
2024 In July, a sponsorship deal gave
naming rights for 10 years to the telecommunications company
One NZ. The stadium was given the sponsored name
One New Zealand Stadium; official sources often refer to it as
One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha, using both official names. On 17 March 2026, it was announced that British singer
Robbie Williams would perform at the stadium on 28 November 2026 as part of the
Britpop Tour. This is currently scheduled to be the first concert headlined by an international act to be held at the stadium. The stadium hosted its first major events in April 2026. It was confirmed at the time that the final bill to ratepayers will likely surpass . == Features ==