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Story: Amateurism and professionalism

Westpac Stadium, 2012

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Westpac Stadium, 2012

When a 36,000-capacity stadium opened on Wellington‘s waterfront in 2000, the Australian-owned bank Westpac New Zealand paid for the naming rights. Many of New Zealand's best-known sporting venues carry the names of commercial sponsors, one sign of the increasing commercialisation of sport. Naming rights are for fixed terms – on 1 January 2020, Westpac Stadium became Sky Stadium

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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

by Emily Tutaki

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How to cite this page

Geoff Watson, Amateurism and professionalism – Growth of professionalism, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/38012/westpac-stadium-2012 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Geoff Watson, published 8 May 2012.