From All Black tests and Football World Cup qualifiers to big concerts and events, the Canterbury Multi-Use Arena (CMUA) will be able to host them all.

Construction is due to start in 2022. Construction of the arena is estimated to be completed by mid-2025.

Christchurch will soon be home to a state-of-the-art multi-use arena. The $523 million project will have a seating capacity of 30,000 for sports events and will hold up to 41,000 spectators for large music events.

In 2020 the Government and the Council approved the multi-functional arena to be built in central Christchurch between Madras, Barbadoes, Hereford and Tuam streets. 

The state-of-the-art arena will add to the central city’s vitality, catalyse further development, help re-establish Christchurch as a sporting and cultural capital and boost the city’s economy by attracting visitors from around New Zealand and the world.

The Council has allocated $303 million to the Canterbury Multi-Use Arena, and the Crown has approved $220 million towards the project(external link) from the Christchurch Regeneration Acceleration Fund.

The project investment case(external link) from 2019 says that in order for the Canterbury Multi-Use Arena to be competitive and attract international and national events, it needs to have:

  • A roof so it can host events all year-round
  • Minimum seating capacity of 25,000, with the potential to add further seating (the completed arena will have a seating capacity of 30,000)
  • A fixed rectangular turf
  • High-quality acoustics.

Preliminary designs for the new arena are currently underway, as the Kōtui consortium works through the project's design phase. 

Led by Australian-based stadium construction experts, BESIX Watpac, Kōtui includes Christchurch-based construction companies Southbase Construction and Fulton Hogan, local seismic engineering specialists Lewis Bradford, Christchurch architects Warren and Mahoney, and global stadium design experts Populous and Mott MacDonald.