Hallowed ground now on home turf
Sport fans were ‘‘super-stoked’’ and ‘‘pretty excited’’ to collect their part of Eden Park’s iconic turf after it was sold off to make way for a brand new pitch.
Hundreds of pieces of the Auckland stadium’s turf were snapped up earlier this month, just a week after it was announced that it would be put up for sale.
Eden Park’s turf manager Blair Christiansen began working at the stadium the same year the turf was initially laid, 17 years ago. ‘‘Every day I’ve been here, the turf has been here,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s quite a big event. Everybody’s been pretty excited. There’s been a lot of selfies and all that sort of stuff.’’
Family, friends and sporting comrades offered a hand to help with the rolling and the moving of the turf into people’s vehicles, including Auckland cricket team the Aces.
‘‘For everyone, it’s a novelty and it is something they will remember forever,’’ Christiansen said.
Not everybody was picking up turf for vanity reasons, he said.
‘‘Some of the first people who arrived were elderly Pacific Islanders who were actually taking their bought turf to their son’s grave. He had been a Blues fan and big supporter of Auckland rugby.’’
Eager to take his turf home, sports fan Graham Alder was first in line at 7:45am on Tuesday. By early afternoon, he already had his 100 square metres implanted in his Devonport backyard.
‘‘I’ve redone the entire lawn, and it looks really great. I’m feeling incredibly satisfied with it, and a little tired.’’
It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own such an iconic piece of turf, said Graham, who planned to frame the accompanying certificate of authenticity and put it on his wall.
‘‘Who else can say that they have had Dan Carter and Richie McCaw on their backyard?’’
Ashley Witheford was taking the opportunity to own a piece of the ground for a second time.
‘‘I bought a few rolls when they redid the turf last time, more than 15 years ago,’’ he said. ‘‘It was just a small patch then, but this time I’m doing the whole back lawn.’’
The 17-year-old surface is being removed to make way for new turf that has been grown at the stadium’s Turf Farm in Karaka, south Auckland.
Eden Park CEO Nick Sautner said that when the new turf arrived, there would be a full resurfacing of the ground and surrounding area.
‘‘It will include a new synthetic ring road, upgraded irrigation, new profile, and the installation of a state-of-the-art hybrid surface.’’
‘‘This will enable greater utilisation and flexibility for hirers, along with attracting diverse content which will best prepare Eden Park, and Auckland, for the three World Cup events over the coming years.’’