Scheduled to open in April 2026, the $683-million build is the Christchurch City Council’s largest-ever construction project and, once complete, the stadium will host a whopping 30,000 people for sports games and 36,000 for large events and concerts. The new venue replaces the iconic Lancaster Park, which was severely damaged in the 2011 earthquake, and will provide a new home for Canterbury’s much-loved rugby team the Crusaders, who have been proudly sponsored by GIB® since 2014.

One of the last of the anchor projects from the Christchurch rebuild, One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha is expected to be a game-changer, injecting fresh life into the CBD, boosting the economy and catalysing further development across the city.

The build showcases a raft of innovative and sustainable features, such as the unique turf, which is currently being grown off-site. Once it’s rolled out, One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha will be just the second stadium on the planet to have a natural grass playing surface fully covered by an all-weather roof. Recycling has been a priority throughout the build, with initiatives to minimise waste including separate bins to recycle steel, cardboard and plasterboard offcuts.

Led by Australian-based stadium construction experts, BESIX Watpac, work on the venue kicked off in April 2022. Adam Gaff of Alpha Interiors has been busy installing GIB® plasterboard there since November 2023. “This stadium project has used the full spectrum of GIB® products, including GIB Braceline® GIB® Fyreline®, GIB Toughline® and GIB Weatherline®. I think the only GIB® product we haven’t used is GIB X-Block®,” says Gaff.

GIB Toughline® was used extensively, with impact resistance and water resistance driving the selection of GIB Toughline® Aqua for the stadium’s public bathrooms. Meanwhile, GIB Weatherline® played a critical role, thanks primarily to its enhanced weather protection.

“Weather has been, and still is, one of our biggest challenges on this project, both water ingress and being exposed to the elements. The design engineers worked closely with Winstone Wallboards to figure out a matrix of which products we could swap out for GIB Weatherline®. In a lot of cases — such as in the service rooms, which needed to be finished before everything else was closed over — we used GIB Weatherline® instead of more standard GIB® plasterboard products.” 

Although Gaff had used rigid air barrier systems before, it was the first time he had used GIB Weatherline®. Now he says he is a big fan.

“I’d definitely use GIB Weatherline® again and now that I know how it’s installed and how durable it is, I’d have no hesitation suggesting it to future clients. Installation-wise, it’s a lot easier than other rigid air barrier systems I’ve used. Cutting is easier and there’s less red tape as far as health and safety goes, plus it offers exciting opportunities for innovation.”

“GIB Weatherline’s® main purpose is as a rigid air barrier that generally gets installed and clad over but for this project we used it innovatively, plastering directly over it. The team hadn’t seen that done on such a large scale before. Admittedly it was harder to install than other GIB® plasterboard products because it doesn’t have tapered edges, but it meant we could finish the service rooms — and if it did get wet, it dried out a lot better,” continued Gaff.

Fire protection was another critical consideration and, once again, GIB Weatherline® stole the show. “A lot of these rooms needed fire rating and we were able to swap out Fyreline® for Weatherline® in many cases,” adds Gaff.

Top quality products and unrivalled support from the GIB® technical team, combined with site delivery services coordinated through the Placemakers Christchurch team, helped make this project a dream for Alpha Interiors.

“GIB® goes above and beyond with their technical support and it makes all the difference to have that backing. What’s more, 90% of GIB® systems are exactly that — systems. They all work together and they’re pretty foolproof. To be honest, this is one of the best projects I’ve worked on. It has run so smoothly, especially for a project of this scale. I’ve encountered more problems doing small office fit-outs,” Gaff concludes.

This content has been created with support from GIB®.

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