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Towards the end of its life, the stadium fell into a poor condition but was still cherished by the public. Throughout the 1980s several proposals were made to modernise the grounds, but instead a decision was made to build a new stadium. Several alternatives were proposed, including a new stadium in
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administrator J. N. Millard. The
Millard Stand replaced the Western Bank, a section that was so popular that fans would camp at the ground overnight to ensure they could sit there. The regular patrons of the Western Bank, referred to as "Bankers", were considered particularly knowledgeable about
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as "the worst concert ever" at the ground. The band began arguing and fighting amongst themselves during the performance and left the stage, before later returning to continue. Those attending chanted for the return of the supporting band, New
Zealand's Street Talk as the music deteriorated.
206:(All Blacks) home test match in 1904, and continued to be used as a regular venue for All Blacks home matches until its closure and demolition in 1999. It was also the primary home ground of the Wellington Hurricanes (now known as the
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as a "desolate, cyclone-swept stadium... pitiful and at the same time wonderful." It was famous for the
Millard Stand, a very steep grandstand which used to sway in the winds. The Millard Stand was completed in 1961 and named for
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Athletic Park also played host to other non-sports events, including a visit by Pope John Paul II in 1986 and various rock concerts.
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made a sideline conversion by kicking almost parallel to the try line, with the wind curling the ball between the posts.
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and was therefore exposed to
Wellington's regular strong winds. For this reason, it was described by French journalist
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The last Test match played at
Athletic Park was against France on 26 June 1999, with the All Blacks winning 54–7.
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and colloquially as "The Cake Tin", was completed in 1999, and
Athletic Park closed permanently that same year.
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Athletic Park hosted 42 Test matches involving the All Blacks from 1904 to 1999, including the
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performed at
Athletic Park, with further performances by Dire Straits in 1986 and 1991.
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The phenomenon of extreme winds at the ground was most famously displayed in the
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performed two concerts there, the first on 10 March 1982 as part of his
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271:. The last match played at the ground was on 10 October 1999, between
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in 1996. The ground record crowd was 59 000 people, set in a
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performed on 28 January 1987 as part of their
Revenge Tour.
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Athletic Park has now been demolished and replaced with a
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In 1923, Athletic Park hosted the inaugural final of the
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and the second was on 22 February 1984 as part of his
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900:SongKick - Athletic Park, Wellington, New Zealand
16:New Zealand multifunctional stadium in Wellington
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656:"A brief history of crap New Zealand stadiums"
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1718:Rugby union stadiums in New Zealand
911:Harding, Grant (4 September 2009).
574:, New Zealand's principal knockout
198:. It was owned and operated by the
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853:"First Chatham Cup football final"
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804:. Club Rugby NZ. 10 October 2019
775:Maclean, Chris (1 August 2015).
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84:41.31722°S 174.77694°E
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89:-41.31722; 174.77694
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859:. 4 September 2020
832:World Rugby Museum
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141:
137:
133:
129:
126:39,000 (1999)
124:59,000 (1959)
117:
115:
111:
107:
102:
98:
93:
65:
63:
59:
56:
52:
48:
45:
41:
37:
30:
25:
22:Athletic Park
19:
1672:Puma Stadium
1595:South Africa
1473:
1354:Subiaco Oval
1334:Mars Stadium
1132:Concord Oval
1130:
1118:
1095:
1083:
1078:Invercargill
1071:
1059:
1047:
1042:Christchurch
1035:
1023:
1011:
1000:
999:
928:. Retrieved
916:
906:
895:
884:
873:
861:. Retrieved
847:
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806:. Retrieved
796:
784:. Retrieved
755:. Retrieved
729:. Retrieved
696:. Retrieved
665:. Retrieved
659:
622:
602:Dire Straits
588:
585:
569:
354:Competition
337:
329:
314:
308:against the
295:
292:Test matches
266:
238:
217:
179:
178:
163:(1896-1999)
142:6 April 1896
122:5,700 (1928)
120:1,100 (1902)
18:
1504:McLean Park
1469:AMI Stadium
1457:New Zealand
1374:WIN Stadium
1344:Manuka Oval
1253:Sky Stadium
1225:New Zealand
1205:GIO Stadium
1049:McLean Park
993:New Zealand
661:The Spinoff
598:David Bowie
596:. In 1983,
572:Chatham Cup
536:New Zealand
515:1 June 1987
466:30 May 1987
417:28 May 1987
368:25 May 1987
363:Attendance
287:Rugby union
254:Hutt Valley
250:Fraser Park
220:Cook Strait
196:New Zealand
184:rugby union
173:(1996-1999)
168:(1904-1999)
108:(1908–1999)
87: /
75:174°46′37″E
62:Coordinates
55:New Zealand
1712:Categories
1529:Rugby Park
1484:Carisbrook
1085:Rugby Park
1013:Carisbrook
1006:Wellington
930:13 October
636:References
618:Eurythmics
606:Elton John
360:Away team
357:Home team
325:Don Clarke
306:1959 match
273:Wellington
208:Hurricanes
192:Wellington
118:800 (1898)
51:Wellington
1579:Singapore
1570:Apia Park
1420:Hong Kong
1309:Ballymore
1294:AAMI Park
1287:Australia
1271:Argentina
1238:Eden Park
1191:Australia
1112:Australia
1025:Eden Park
925:1170-0777
917:NZ Herald
552:Argentina
317:1961 Test
302:Australia
300:win over
72:41°19′2″S
1652:Newlands
1210:HBF Park
1125:Brisbane
1090:Hamilton
1030:Auckland
503:Zimbabwe
487:Scotland
319:against
222:and the
114:Capacity
43:Location
1383:England
1066:Rotorua
1018:Dunedin
559:30,000
510:12,000
454:Romania
412:15,000
389:Ireland
279:in the
242:Porirua
214:History
188:Newtown
155:Tenants
131:Surface
47:Newtown
1137:Sydney
1054:Napier
923:
863:7 June
837:22 May
808:7 June
786:7 June
757:7 June
731:22 May
698:7 June
667:22 May
549:
533:
524:Pool 3
500:
484:
475:Pool 4
461:7,000
451:
438:France
435:
426:Pool 4
402:
386:
377:Pool 2
321:France
182:was a
147:Closed
139:Opened
1686:Tonga
1563:Samoa
1436:Japan
405:Wales
351:Date
277:Otago
134:Grass
100:Owner
1399:Fiji
932:2018
921:ISSN
865:2023
839:2023
810:2023
788:2023
759:2023
733:2023
700:2023
669:2023
600:and
590:Kiss
519:1987
470:1987
421:1987
372:1987
340:1987
298:43–6
275:and
281:NPC
252:in
248:or
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