For a venue formerly named Rugby Park, Yarrow Stadium certainly has undergone a transformation.
Its cricket makeover got under way last week when a drop-in pitch from Auckland was, well, dropped into a neatly excavated hole in the middle of the field.
Yarrow Stadium is the new Seddon Park this season.
It will host the twenty20 playoff matches and the final in mid-December, as well as three round-robin matches starting with tonight's match between Central Districts and Otago.
Both coaches are unsure about what to expect.
It has been 12 years since the venue hosted an elite cricket game and it has staged only three one-dayers.
Otago coach Nathan King expected the surface to be on the ''slower and lower'' side but would know more after an inspection planned for yesterday afternoon.
Central Districts coach Heinrich Malan was in a similar boat.
''Obviously, there is not too much information about the ground ... so this whole season is going to be about learning quickly,'' Malan said.
''We are just not sure what a good score is.''
But while there is uncertainty about what a par score might be, New Zealand Cricket's general manager of grounds and facilities Ian McKendry is confident the pitch will play well.
''It is in the ground now andit is all nice and even andflat,'' McKendry said.
''It has an even grass cover and it is just a matter of [groundsman] Craig Hitchcock and his team doing the finishing touches and my role is just to assist them.''
The pitch was grown in Auckland, under the watchful eye of former Carisbrook and Eden Park groundsman Mark Perham and transported to New Plymouth.
''They have a lot of experience at pulling it all together,'' McKendry said.
He declined to comment on what the project had cost other than to say it was value for money.
''I cannot really disclose the cost but it is economic to do it and it is not over the top. In some respects, it has been a good solution for us, in that we are able to bring cricket to the stadium and to Taranaki.
''We're really pleased with how it has all panned out.''
The lighting and the dimensions of the ground comply with the required standards, although it is fair to say the square boundaries will not require a great deal of brute strength, as the pitch runs from goal post to goal post, so to speak.
The last time an Otago team was at Yarrow Stadium, halfback Kaide Whiting scored in the 83rd minute to complete a remarkable come-from-behind win.
Perhaps that is a good omen for the Volts.
The two teams played at Pukekura Park on Thursday evening and Otago secured a comfortable six-wicket win.
Central Districts opener and former Black Cap Jesse Ryder has been ruled out with a side strain and has been replaced by Indika Senaratne. Otago has the same 13.
The Canterbury Kings beat the Northern Knights by seven wickets at Seddon Park in Hamilton last night.
The Knights were bowled out for 153 in 19.2 overs, a total which the Kings chased down with 15 balls to spare, for the loss of just three wickets.
Otago v Central Districts
New Plymouth, tonight, 7.10pm
Otago: Neil Broom, Anaru Kitchen, Michael Bracewell, Brad Wilson, Nathan McCullum (captain), Derek de Boorder, Josh Finnie, Sam Wells, Neil Wagner, Jacob Duffy, Warren Barnes, Rhys Phillips, Michael Rae.
Central Districts: George Worker, Indika Senaratne, William Young, Dane Cleaver, Tom Bruce, Kruger van Wyk (captain), Josh Clarkson, Marty Kain, Mitchell Claydon, Seth Rance,Andrew Mathieson, Blair Tickner.
