Blues exploring Eden Park exit amid 'quite sad' fan turnout

Comments in the New Zealand Herald this week have revealed that the Blues are considering taking two home Super Rugby games away from Eden Park in the coming season, with Mt Smart’s Go Media Stadium expected to be trialled as an alternative home.

The Blues’ contract with Eden Park expires this year, and the club are taking the opportunity to consult fans on a potential move beyond the hallowed halls of New Zealand’s rugby stronghold. With Super Rugby’s crowd attendance numbers far from what they once were, there are financial motivations behind the idea.

Mt Smart Stadium frequently draws over 20,000 fans to its stands for NRL games hosted by New Zealand’s Warriors, and the 2025 addition of Auckland’s new A-League football club – started in part by former All Black Ali Williams – has also generated a diehard fandom at the stadium.

Former Blues and All Blacks prop Craig Dowd witnessed Eden Park in its heyday as a Super Rugby venue, and while he holds those memories dear, he feels it’s essential not to get stuck in the past.

“I’ve had some fond memories when Super Rugby first started, and it was new. We’d have a full Eden Park, and it was just the most incredible experience, playing in front of a crowd like that,” he told Newstalk ZB‘s D’Arcy Waldergrave.

“But it can be quite sad when you look at the way it is now, when you get half, not even half full, maybe five, seven, eight, ten thousand people there. It’s a bit of an empty stadium, and it won’t create a great environment for playing Blues Super Rugby.”

The 60-Test international added: “I suppose it’s the way of the future. We can’t keep looking back over our shoulder at what used to be. I mean, they’ve got to look at it financially, what’s been official for the Blues.

“What’s the fan experience going to be? What’s the game experience? Hopefully, they’ve consulted the players about taking what is a home game somewhere else and whether or not that could become a second home.

“But ultimately I’d like to keep Eden Park as their main venue.”

Sky Sport reports suggest that Super Rugby’s supporters are shifting from the stands to the couch, with the network pulling strong viewership numbers. At the same time, low ticket sales struggle to maintain larger stadiums as viable home venues. Some traditional rivalries and heavyweight bouts can still draw the punters, but Eden Park is a big stadium that is not flattered by four-digit crowd numbers.

“It’s not a good feeling,” Dowd said when recalling times he’d run out to a quiet crowd. “You want to hear the roar of the crowd, you want to hear them getting behind you when you’re playing at your home ground, playing for your fans, and they’re going all out for you as well, so it’s a real special experience.

“Maybe they can get that at Go Media; we’ve seen what the Warriors can provide. And hey, maybe even a double banger with the Warriors could be on the cards.”

Even with a renovation of the famous stadium on the cards, Dowd says the proposed addition of a roof would have little impact on fans’ decision-making.

“It might be a luxury, a nice to have, but at the end of the day, the fans want to turn up and watch their team. It comes down to whether you haven’t got the numbers there, and the cost of just turning on the lights, you’re not making any money. They’re going to have to look at options, and I guess this is just the cost of doing business.”