Parakiore. Ngā Puna Wai. Hagley Oval and now Te Kaha.
Ōtautahi Christchurch now has the full deck of first class, top notch, bee’s knees sporting facilities.
It will be, if it’s not already, the envy of the country.
This has not come without a fight, there are citizens of that city that really didn’t want a bar of any of it, or the price tag they came with. But good things come to those who ask and in One New Zealand Stadium’s case, those who wait.
The stadium at Te Kaha is the jewel in Christchurch's sporting crown. The paragon, the masterpiece, the crowning glory, the pièce de résistance.
Plainly, these facilities were all borne of the calamitous quake of 2011, a city defining disaster that flattened the metropolis in the blink of an eye. A barely comprehensible natural disaster which the city will carry in its hearts and minds for generations to come.
Although it has taken many years for the populace to haul itself back to its feet physically and mentally – the reconstruction, redevelopment, and reimagining of their proud town have been stunning. Uplifting even.
Sport is the beating heart of Canterbury. Unless you've lived there, which I did for the first 30 years of my life, you can’t possibly grasp the deep-seated passion that drives the outrageous success that the red and black athletes have sustained for, well, forever.
This continuum of achievement has never waned, and now with the proliferation of world class sporting facilities, it’s incomprehensible that it won't continue.
Tahi Aotearoa whare hākinakina kei Te Kaha.
What a stunner.
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