Dunedin will be home to the Southern Steel for its games against the Adelaide Thunderbirds and Central Pulse next season.
While the full 2015 ANZ Championship draw will not be released until next week, the Steel's six home games have been confirmed, as well as an early trip to Perth.
The Thunderbirds will be in Dunedin on April 27, before former Steel goal attack Jodi Brown returns to town with the Pulse on May 2. Brown, who played for the Steel the past three seasons, was not offered a new contract for next season and will instead be based in Wellington with her new team.
Southern Steel chief executive Sue Clarke has high hopes for the Dunedin games.
''We're predicting a classic transtasman humdinger, followed by an epic encounter against the Pulse. What a fantastic showcase for our sport,'' she said.
The Steel opens its 2015 campaign against the NSW Swifts on March 1 in Invercargill, before the Mainland Tactix heads south for a derby the following weekend.
The squad will then jump on a plane to Perth to play the West Coast Fever, before a well-timed bye in round four gives it ample time to recover.
The franchise was pleased with several aspects of the draw, including the scheduling of four Saturday games and the early trip to Western Australia, Clarke said.
''We understand the challenge that forecasting venue availability and accommodating all 10 teams presents, but we're very satisfied with the draw as it relates to the Steel.
''A traditionally tough aspect of our campaign, the trip to Perth, is scheduled in round three and followed by the bye on our return, which allows us to overcome that mind-set of a gruelling journey and get it ticked off,'' she said.
The Steel will also host Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic, the only New Zealand team to make the playoffs last year, in Invercargill on April 11, and the Northern Mystics on May 23.
- by Robert Van Royen
