A petition launched by Queenstowner Emma Chisholm — sparked by the almost total dearth of men’s international cricket since 2014, despite the town’s high rating as a cricket venue worldwide — calls on New Zealand Cricket (NZC) and the council to bring cricket back to the Queenstown Events Centre (QEC).
It states "there are concerns Queenstown Lakes District Council [QLDC] has not been actively putting Queenstown forward as a host venue".
However, QLDC sport and recreation manager Simon Battrick said the council had "actively pitched for matches to be played at this venue", and had had ongoing dialogue with NZC.
"We would dearly love to bring international cricket matches back to Queenstown — and will be pitching again for the 2026/27 season — but ultimately the decision lies with NZC."
Mr Battrick said the council fully acknowledged several factors favoured cricket-only venues over QEC, which remained a multi-use, year-round community venue.
These included its proximity to the airport — affecting the height of lighting and broadcast towers — increased lighting standards required for broadcast matches, exceeding what is currently in place (especially given non-daylight playing hours are often required to meet the preferences of international TV audiences) and the level of investment required via local ratepayers to match the upgrades completed in competing venues. These included media rooms, merchandise areas, bigger spectator spaces and food and beverage offerings.
Concerning spectator capacity, local cricket fan Kenny Frisby said QEC’s Sir John Davies Oval could hold 19,000 people, behind only the venues used in Auckland, Wellington and Napier.
NZC, in a statement to RNZ’s Checkpoint, agreed that the oval was "a venue of great natural beauty", but raised another flag.
"What complicates match allocations is the extra cost of scheduling games there, caused mainly by the shared nature of the QEC as it relates to player and match official facilities.
"We’ve discussed these issues with the QLDC and have made them aware of the challenges."
Locally-based Otago Cricket Association chair Russell Mawhinney last week said the ground was "substandard", and needed an upgrade of media facilities before it was back in the running for international cricket.
philip.chandler@alliedmedia.co.nz
