Where North Otago will play their home games this season remains a mystery — for now.
The Heartland draw was released earlier this week, but the venue for the Old Golds’ four home games was left blank, instead of their regular ground at Whitestone Contracting Stadium.
Chief executive Colin Jackson confirmed the union was waiting for a decision on when the stadium’s grandstand would be torn down, which would affect their ability to play at the No 1 ground.
The grandstand will be removed to make way for the Waitaki Event Centre and a smaller grandstand will be built as part of the project.
He hoped to have a more definitive answer by the time club rugby started on April 13.
No discussions had been held regarding an alternative Heartland ground as of yet.
The Old Golds start their season at home against Horowhenua Kapiti on August 17.
They will also face East Coast (September 7), Mid Canterbury (September 21) and Buller (October 5).
But they have tough away games this season against Thames Valley (August 24), Wairarapa Bush (August 31), defending Meads Cup champions South Canterbury (September 14) and King Country (September 28).
"Looking forward to the season. The draw is what it is," Jackson said.
"Always said you’ve got to beat everybody if you’re going to win Heartland.
"We’ve got a couple of long trips, but we’ve been dealing with those for a long time, so it’s no different."
The Heartland semifinals will be played on October 12 and the Meads Cup, and Lochore Cup, finals will be on October 19.
