Apia Park
{{Short description|Multi-function sports complex located in Apia, Samoa}}
{{Infobox venue
| name = Apia Park
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| broke_ground = 1924
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| renovated = 2015
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| capacity = 12,000
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| tenants = Samoa national rugby union team
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Apia Park is a multi-function sports complex located in Apia, the capital of Samoa. Primarily used for rugby union events, Apia Park is the home stadium of the Samoa national rugby union team, Manu Samoa. It is also a venue for association football. Manuma Samoa use the venue for rugby union matches.
Facilities
The venue consists of a stadium with a capacity of 12,000, a gymnasium, as well as tennis and netball courts.
The Island of Savai'i however calls the Prince Edwards Park, Lalomalava their home stadium.
History
The ground was opened in 1924 in and the first sporting event hosted was the rugby match against Fiji.{{cite book|title=Sports Around the World: History, Culture, and Practice|editor-first1=John|editor-last1=Nauright|editor-first2=Charles|editor-last2=Parrish|publisher=ABC-CLIO|page=446}} In 2015, the main stadium area underwent a multi-million tālā facelift by Shanghai Construction Group for the historic match against the All Blacks as part of both teams' preparations for the upcoming World Cup.{{cite news|title=The year that was|url=http://www.sobserver.ws/en/31_12_2015/local/797/The-year-that-was.htm|work=Samoa Observer|date=December 31, 2015}}{{cite news|title=Manu Samoa to host All Blacks for historic Apia Test|url=http://www.allblacks.com/News/25898/manu-samoa-to-host-all-blacks-for-historic-apia-test|publisher=AllBlacks.com|date=14 September 2014|access-date=6 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171211054115/http://www.allblacks.com/News/25898/manu-samoa-to-host-all-blacks-for-historic-apia-test|archive-date=11 December 2017|url-status=dead}}
Events and competitions
In 2007, Apia Park was one of the main venues for the 2007 Pacific Games, hosting the athletics, table tennis, badminton, lawn bowls, rugby sevens and touch rugby events. The Park will be put to use again for an international event when it hosts the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games, as well as the Games' athletics, rugby league and tennis competitions.[https://archive.today/20140202150411/http://fijidailypost.com/news.php?section=3&fijidailynews=20447 "Samoa to host 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games"], Fiji Daily Post, November 25, 2008 The park hosted a test-match between Samoa and Fiji on 8 October 2016, marking the 30th anniversary of rugby league in Samoa.{{Cite web|url=http://www.nrl.com/samoa-to-host-fiji-in-historic-test/tabid/10874/newsid/95676/default.aspx|title = Samoa to host Fiji in historic Test|date = 5 October 2016}}
In 2017 Blues and Reds will play a regular season game of Super Rugby for the first time ever.
Moana Pasifika, an Auckland based rugby union team composed of players from around the Pacific, will play a 2023 Super Rugby Pacific home game at Apia Park against the Queensland Reds.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sarugbymag.co.za/fiji-samoa-to-host-super-rugby-pacific-matches/|title = Fiji, Samoa to host Super Rugby Pacific matches|date = 25 September 2022}}
See also
{{Portal|Sports}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.samoa2007.ws/index.php?id=194 Apia Park Sports Complex] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319211605/http://www.samoa2007.ws/index.php?id=194 |date=2012-03-19 }}, 2007 Pacific Games. Retrieved 23 June 2007.
- [http://www.espnscrum.com/scrum/rugby/ground/16159.html Profile] on ESPNscrum
{{Samoa national rugby union team}}
{{Super Rugby stadiums}}
Category:Samoa national rugby union team
Category:Buildings and structures in Apia
Category:Sports venues in Samoa
Category:Football venues in Samoa
Category:Athletics (track and field) venues in Samoa
Category:Rugby league stadiums in Samoa