Patience And Planning the Key for FIFA/Fieldays Visitors

9 JUNE 2015

For Immediate Release

Visitors heading to Hamilton for this week’s FIFA U-20 World Cup 2015 matches and the National Agricultural Fieldays are being urged to leave early for their destinations and plan their journeys.

The city hosts two matches at Waikato Stadium as part of the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2015 this week (on Thursday, 11 June and Sunday, 16 June), while the annual Fieldays event begins at Mystery Creek tomorrow (Wednesday, 10 June).

Both events are expected to see a significant influx of visitors and vehicles to Hamilton and surrounding districts with anticipated heavy traffic flows, particularly south of the city.

Hamilton City Council, NZ Transport Agency, Waikato Regional Council and Waipa District Council and New Zealand Police have a collective responsibility to keep the region’s traffic moving.

They are advising motorists and visitors to the region to:

- Travel early and plan their routes to their destinations.

- Be patient and courteous on the roads, particularly those in and out of Mystery Creek and main arterial routes into the city.

- Take advantage of free buses ferrying football fans between Hamilton’s CBD (Hood Street) and Waikato Stadium, and taking Fieldays visitors between the Hamilton Transport Centre (Bryce Street) and Mystery Creek. Visit www.busit.co.nz for more information.

- Sign up to carpooling website www.letscarpool.govt.nz to find opportunities to ride-share with other visitors and commuters.

- Avoid main roads in and out of the city and look for detours if you are not attending either the football matches or Fieldays.

- People who are driving to Fieldays can keep a tab on traffic and find out how long it will take them to get there from their local area on the Transport Agency websitehttp://www.drivelive.nz/fieldays

- Use the marked walking route through Hamilton’s CBD to the stadium for the football.

- Social media users can use #Fieldaystravel to plan and share their journey. This dedicated hashtag will be monitored by the Transport Agency's National Travel Information Service team who will update people on any delays and other incidents.

Tickets for the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2015 matches can be purchased from the Hamilton i-SITE or online atwww.fifa.com/nz2015. Tickets for Fieldays can be purchased online at www.streamticketing.co.nz, i-SITE or at the event.

ENDS

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