Christchurch’s temporary sports stadium will be known simply as ‘Christchurch Stadium’ for first Mitre 10 Cup game this week, after losing its named sponsor AMI.



The insurance company withdrew its support in March, after 10 years of sponsorship, but the name was only officially removed on August 11, as promotional material had already been printed for the Super Rugby season.

Public interest in the stadium has waned over the last few years, with Super Rugby champions Crusaders only able to sell out one game in the entire season, despite dominating the competition.

Crusaders executives and players have appealed to the Christchurch City Council to fast-track its funding for the new permanent stadium planned in centre of Christchurch, saying the temporary stadium was proving unattractive.

AMI community engagement manager Eve Whitwell released a statement saying they planned to move their sponsorship to more “community-based activities”.

“A decision has been made, after 10 years of sponsorship - first at Lancaster Park and more recently at the temporary Christchurch Stadium - to discontinue our stadium sponsorship,” she said.

“Our new partnerships will see us providing support to families and communities at the front line, whether that’s new fire alarms ahead of winter, food care packages or supporting young people with driver training skills.”

Christchurch Stadium Trust chief executive Tim Shannahan did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Newshub, but in the AMI statement, he confirmed a “replacement naming-rights partner” was being sought.

“AMI provided support to an earthquake-response project in the aftermath of the Canterbury earthquakes," he said. "That support has been key for the financial operation of the stadium.”

The newly-named ‘Christchurch Stadium’ will see its first game on Saturday, as Canterbury take on Wellington for their first home game of the Mitre 10 Cup provincial competition.

Newshub.