A meticulously designed 11-hole golf course, complete with a bunker, set across our hallowed turf is not something most people would typically associate with Eden Park. But from today, that’s exactly what we’ve got. With tee boxes positioned around the stadium and players hitting approach shots towards custom-built greens on the pitch, G9 is part golf, part spectacle, and entirely unlike anything you would normally expect from the game or our national stadium.
But since we first introduced G9 in 2017, that has been part of the thinking. Eden Park has never been about standing still. It has been about continuing to challenge the traditional stadium model, finding new ways to utilise the asset and creating experiences that bring different audiences through our gates. G9 is not only distinctive, but it also reflects the way we think about innovation, connection and the role a modern stadium should play.
Economic and social benefits are not generated by leaving a stadium empty between major sports matches and concerts. A venue like Eden Park needs to be active, relevant and contributing to Auckland as a place where people want to live, stay, work and play, while also delivering for New Zealand more broadly. This belief has shaped a lot of our thinking over recent years and we have worked hard to broaden the way the venue is used, not only through major sport and entertainment, but through experiences that give people a completely different perspective on the place. Whether it’s rooftop tours, glamping, premium hospitality offerings or golf played in the stadium, the focus is the same: to ensure Eden Park continues to evolve in line with changing expectations and remains relevant to a wide range of audiences.
G9 is a strong example of that in practice because it appeals to a broad range of people. For some it is about the golf itself and the competition. For others it is about the social side of the event. And for many, it is simply the chance to experience Eden Park in a way they never have before. That matters because modern stadiums cannot be built around one format, one season or one type of customer. They need to create different opportunities for different audiences. The more varied the experience, the more diverse the crowd, and the stronger the connection people build with the venue over time.
That diversity of audience is important to us. Some people come to Eden Park for rugby, cricket or football. Others come for concerts, community events, business functions or family experiences. Events like G9 help broaden that mix even further. They create another reason for people to walk through our gates and engage with the stadium in a setting that feels relaxed, memorable and different. That is valuable not only from a utilisation perspective, but from a relevance perspective because it helps ensure Eden Park remains part of the lives of a broader cross-section of New Zealanders.
It is also one of the reasons our partners see value in events like this. Partnerships today are about much more than signage or visibility. At the heart of our partnership programme is engagement and giving businesses and brands a meaningful way to connect with people through memorable experiences. G9 does that well. It gives our partners the opportunity to host, to interact and to be part of something distinctive and in that sense, it reflects something broader about Eden Park. We are in the business of connection: connection between people and place, between brands and audiences, and between the stadium and the wider community.
More broadly, G9 also reinforces something we believe strongly: to remain globally relevant, venues need to keep looking beyond the traditional. Around the world, stadiums are facing the same challenge of how to better use their assets outside headline event days, and we are proud to be continually innovating and introducing new ideas at Eden Park and, in some cases, see versions of those ideas adopted elsewhere. That comes back to a mindset. If you want a stadium to be strong and sustainable for the long term, you cannot rely solely on tradition. You have to be prepared to test new concepts, adapt to the market and keep asking what else the venue can be.
That is why I see G9 as much more than a golf event. It is a reflection of the kind of venue Eden Park is continuing to become: one that embraces different audiences, creates different experiences, gives partners genuine ways to engage and is prepared to keep innovating rather than standing still.
For a stadium with our deep history, that matters. Because protecting the legacy of Eden Park does not mean preserving it exactly as it was. It means ensuring it continues to evolve, continues to connect and continues to play a meaningful role in the life of Auckland and New Zealand for the next 125 years. In many ways, that is part of our broader ambition for Eden Park to be the world’s most innovative stadium destination.
