Carisbrook

Call it the confusing case of the mystery million.

The $1.2 million debt incurred by the Otago Rugby Football Union when it sold Carisbrook more than two years ago is now weighing heavily on union finances, board deputy chairman Laurie Mains says.

An "aggressive" marketing campaign to sell Carisbrook ground will begin in early February, as the Dunedin City Council looks to recoup the $7 million it paid for the facility.

Lights from mothballed Carisbrook will be installed at Canterbury rugby's new temporary home.

The name of the historic Dunedin rugby and cricket ground, Carisbrook, looks likely to live on in the name of a new local school.

The Great Carisbrook Garage Sale was held on Saturday. Organiser Vicki Kestila said hundreds of people attended the sale, to which rugby clubs were given priority access the previous day.

The lights that once lit up Carisbrook will light up the Crusaders.

Perfect for your local club, the high school down the road or your back yard.

Initial responses from real estate companies vying for the job of selling the historic Carisbrook ground suggest the $7 million paid for the land by the Dunedin City Council might be recouped.

Carisbrook sways to the crowds who gathered on Saturday for the last games before the ground's closure.

Photos by Peter McIntosh and Craig Baxter; prints available from otagoimages.co.nz.