Carisbrook, Dunedin

Carisbrook is a major sporting venue in Dunedin, New Zealand. The city's main domestic and international rugby union venue, it has also been used for other sports such as cricket, soccer and motocross. Carisbrook has also hosted a Joe Cocker concert and frequently hosted pre-game concerts before rugby matches in the 1990s.

Floodlit since the 1990s, it can cater for both day and night fixtures. Known locally simply as "The Brook", it is also often known around the world by the name "The House of Pain", due to its solid reputation as a difficult venue for visiting teams.

Located at the foot of The Glen, a steep valley, the ground is flanked by the South Island Main Trunk Railway and the Hillside Railway Workshops, two miles southwest of Dunedin city centre in the suburb of Caversham. State Highway 1 also runs close to the northern perimeter of the ground.

Carisbrook was named after the estate of early colonial settler James Macandrew (itself named after a castle in the Isle of Wight). Developed during the 1870s, it was first used for international cricket in 1883, when Otago hosted a team from Tasmania. It has been hosting rugby union internationals since 1908 and full cricket internationals since 1955.

The stadium is home to the Otago rugby team in the Air New Zealand Cup and to the Highlanders Super 14 rugby team. It is the former home of Otago cricket,which moved to the University Oval at Logan Park in the north of the city after the redevelopment in the early 2000s.

The ground's capacity is around 35,000, but has hosted crowds as high as 42,000. Until recent years, the sides of a major road overlooking the ground were known as the "Scotsman's Grandstand", from which a free view of the action could be easily obtained. At one time trains would slow to a crawl or stop on the track above the stadium allowing passengers on the train to watch an entire event, other fans would sit on the hill this was until 1998 when development of a new stand and corporate boxes on that side of the ground blocked the view, rendering this tradition a thing of the past.

Carisbrook Overview Map

Selwyn ballet perform at Carisbrook

Carisbrook Contact details

Carisbrook

Burns St

Dunedin

New Zealand

Phone: +64 3 466 4010

Fax: +64 3 466 4002

Email: orfu@orfu.co.nz

Official website www.orfu.co.nz