Inglewood looms as the new "home" of the Ranfurly Shield.

The Taranaki Rugby Football Union (TRFU) have hurriedly made alternative plans, after being told New Plymouth's Yarrow Stadium will never host a game again. The ground is an earthquake risk and Inglewood's TET Stadium is now set to be confirmed as Taranaki's 2018 base.

TRFU chairman Lindsay Thomson was confident temporary seating could be erected in Inglewood to accommodate crowds of 7000, while plans and funding are put in place for a new rugby venue in New Plymouth. Thomson was confident the appetite and political will for a new ground existed, but that it would be "three to five years" until any construction could be completed.

CAMERON BURNELL/STUFF Mount Taranaki forms a spectacular background for Inglewood's TET Stadium.

"People, initially, will be happy to put up with [a ground that's] less than ideal given our circumstances," Thomson said on Thursday.

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"Taranaki is a pretty fervent rugby province and the fact that we hold the Ranfurly Shield; obviously it would've been nice to hold those games at Yarrow Stadium and potentially have 8-10,000 people at those games. But if we've got a capacity of only 7000, then we're going to create demand and we're going to create a great atmosphere at a relatively small, inclosed ground."

SIMON O'CONNOR/STUFF Taranaki fans, mascot Ferdinand and TRFU chief executive Jeremy Parkinson, right, face a few road trips to defend the Ranfurly Shield.

Subject to New Zealand Rugby and Sky Television approving the TRFU's plans, Thomson was hopeful of confirming this season's schedule within a week. TET Stadium boasts lights, which have largely been for athletics until now, and the expectation is that the ground will be able to host night matches.

As for Yarrow Stadium, Thomson said it was a case of accepting the geotechnical finding that the land was an earthquake risk and moving on.

"If we're to look into a crystal ball, and this is clearly not a decision for Taranaki Rugby, but I don't think that venue can ever be used as a rugby stadium again. So I suspect demolition and potentially the sale of all of that land, apart from a couple of rugby fields at the back which Spotswood United use, it's going to be turned back into residential and the appropriate political bodies - Taranaki Regional Council and New Plymouth District Council - will have to start looking at options," said Thomson.

GRANT MATTHEW/STUFF The future of New Plymouth's Yarrow Stadium is looking grim.

Taranaki and All Blacks first five-eighth Beauden Barrett grew up watching his father Kevin play at Yarrow Stadium, before graduating to that arena himself. Speaking from All Blacks camp on Thursday, Barrett said a change of venue wouldn't hamper Taranaki's hopes of an unbeaten Ranfurly Shield run this year.

"A lot of fond memories at that ground. It's a bit sad. I'm sure we'll bounce back. We're pretty resilient in that province. I'm sure we've already got plans under way for how it looks going forward," Barrett said.

"It's a little setback for a proud province but I'm sure it won't affect the way the boys in amber and black will play this season, and the support that we get."