Jade Stadium, formerly known as Lancaster Park is a sports stadium situated in Christchurch. It has hosted various sports: rugby union, rugby league, hockey, cricket, soccer, athletics, trotting until in 1899 this club moved to Addington Racecourse, swimming and as a function centre has hosted non-sporting events such as concerts by U2 in 1989 and and, Billy Joel in 1987. For other uses, see Christchurch (disambiguation). ... Rugby Union is a team sport that was developed from the rules used to play football at Rugby School in England. ... Rugby league is a team sport, played by teams of 13 players per side (usually plus 4 substitutes). ... Hockey is any of a family of sports in which two teams compete by trying to maneuver a hard, round ball or a puck into the opponents goal, past the goalkeeper or goaltender (often abbreviated goalie), using a stick. ... // Objective and summary Action at the centre of the ground. ... Football is a ball game played between two teams of eleven players, each attempting to win by scoring more goals than their opponent. ... Athletics, also known as track and field or track and field athletics, is a collection of sport events. ... Horse gaits are the different methods by which a horse, either naturally or through human training, moves itself. ... Swimming is the method by which humans (or other animals) move themselves through water in a method not involving simply walking on the bottom. ... U2 (L to R): The Edge, Bono, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen Jr. ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Billy Joel was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. ... 1987 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

It is however primarily a Rugby and Cricket ground. Its current capacity is 36,500 after redevelopment. Rugby football, as a catch-all term, may refer to two related but separate team sports: rugby league and rugby union. ... // Objective and summary Action at the centre of the ground. ...

1998 saw Jade Stadium become the new name of Lancaster Park after naming rights sold to the Jade Software Corporation Limited (makers of the JADE programming language). 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... JADE is an object oriented programming language with integrated object database. ...

Ownership

In 1880 Canterbury Cricket and Athletics Sports Co Ltd was established. The company then purchased 10 acres, 3 roods 30 perches (43,642 m²) of the Lancaster Estate for £2,841 at £260 per acre (£642.47/km²). In 1904 Canterbury cricket would became the sole owner of the ground. Then in 1911 the Canterbury Rugby Union became co-owners with the Canterbury Cricket Association over the ground. 1880 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... As a unit of currency, the term pound originates from the value of a Troy pound weight (Latin libra), of high purity silver, and is the currency unit of a number of countries: Cyprus pound in Cyprus Egyptian pound in Egypt Lebanese pound in Lebanon Syrian pound in Syria British... An acre is an English unit of area. ... 1904 is a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1911 was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ...

Official opening

In 1881 the first cricket match to be played on the ground was scheduled for the opening on 8th October, it was however canceled due to rain. An athletics meeting became the first event held on the ground on 15th October. 1881 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

Expansion

The embankment was expanded in 1957, increasing the capacity to 33,000. Two new stands were opened in 1965 further increasing the capacity to 58,500. In 1995 the Hadlee Stand opened in tribute to the successful cricketing family which came from Canterbury. 2000 saw the destruction of the embankment and No. 4 stand and the opening of the DB Draught stand and the Paul Kelly Motor Company Stand (West Stand). 1957 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... // Events January-February January 4 - United States President Lyndon Johnson proclaims his Great Society during his State of the Union address. ... 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year 2000. ...

Rugby

Jade Stadium is home to the Crusaders Super 12 franchise and the Canterbury team in the NPC, both of which have been very successful in their respective competitions. The Crusaders do not play all of their home games at Jade Stadium, however, because the franchise draws players from several NPC unions on the South Island. The team plays one game annually at Trafalgar Park in Nelson. The Crusaders (originally known as the Canterbury Crusaders) are a New Zealand Rugby Union team based in Christchurch, New Zealand, Jade Stadium, and representing the Nelson Bays, Marlborough, Buller, West Coast, Canterbury, Mid Canterbury and South Canterbury unions. ... Super 14, or Super 12 as it was known from 1996 through 2005, is a Rugby Union championship competed for by teams from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. ... The Canterbury Rugby Football Union is the official governing body for rugby union in a substantial part of the Canterbury region of New Zealand. ... The National Provincial Championship (NPC) is New Zealands principal domestic rugby union competition. ... The city of Nelson stands on the eastern side of Tasman Bay at the northern end of the South Island of New Zealand. ...

Ranfurly Shield

Canterbury successfully retained the Ranfurly Shield against Waikato in 1954 with a last minute try. The conversion was never taken as the crowd rushed the field before the game could be completed. The New Zealand region of Canterbury mostly comprises the Canterbury Plains. ... The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log of Wood, is perhaps the most prestigious trophy in New Zealands domestic rugby union competition. ... Waikato is the name of a region in the North Island of New Zealand. ... 1954 was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Cricket

The Lighting towers added in 1996 - the first in a major New Zealand stadium; these were put to use in 1997 when New Zealand played England at the Jade Stadium in front of 25,000.

Rugby League

Jade Stadium has served over years as a 'home away from home' stadium for teams the Australian NRL competition such as the Wests Tigers, as despite the name of the team New Zealand Warriors insinuating Jade Stadium is part of their franchise base, this team is based at Ericsson Stadium in Auckland. The National Rugby League (NRL) is one of the most popular sporting competitions in Australia and, in recent times, New Zealand, consisting of fifteen teams playing Rugby League football against each other. ... The Wests Tigers are a team in the National Rugby League (NRL), the premier rugby league football competition in Australia. ... The New Zealand Warriors (formerly Auckland Warriors) are a rugby league team based in Auckland, New Zealand who compete in the Australian based National Rugby League competition. ... Ericsson Stadium, formerly Mount Smart Stadium, is a stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. ...

Financial difficulty

In 1912 a Floral Fete, a festival, was held to raise funds to clear the debt of £2,000 in order to prevent the ground being cut up into building sites.

The financial difficulty the ground faced was so great that during New Zealand's involvement in World War I in 1915 the main oval at Lancaster Park was ploughed up and was used as a potato field in an attempt to raise more revenue. World War I was primarily a European conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, stalemate trench warfare, and the use of new, devastating weapons - tanks, aircraft, machineguns, and poison gas. ...

Religious events

Jade Stadium in 1954 held a Roman Catholic prayer rally. This drew a large attendance. Pope John Paul II has also held a public mass on the oval in 1986, this drew 28,000 The Roman Catholic Church,(this name is somewhat of a misnomer, in that it includes several Western and Eastern liturgical rites besides the Roman rite) also called the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian body in the world. ... Pope John Paul II (Latin: ), born Karol Józef Wojtyła (May 18, 1920 – April 2, 2005), reigned as pope of the Catholic Church for almost 27 years, from 16 October 1978 until his death, making his the third-longest reign in the history of the Papacy according to the... 1986 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Other facts

Amusingly, a cricket game was paused for 2 hours in 1883 so a rugby game could occur. 1883 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

During New Zealand's involvement in World War II from 1940 to 1944 the park's facilities were used for military training, 800 troops were accommodated in the grounds at one point. World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons like the atom bomb World War II, also known as the Second World War, was by far the bloodiest, most expensive, and most significant war in... 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1944 was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...

In 1976 the main playing field was graffitied using acid with the words "Welcome to Racist Game" marked on the field as a protest against the presence of two South African international rugby players - John Williams and Johan Oosthuizen.

As of Friday 18th August, 2000 Jade Stadium is officially smokefree - "Smoking is banned in all indoor areas, seating bowls, including access ways and around entry gates." August 18 is the 230th day of the year (231st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year 2000. ...

External links

• Jade Stadium Official Site