Stadium opening joined by Knox and Selwyn

15 July 2011

Stadium opening joined by Knox and Selwyn

Two of New Zealand’s oldest and most prestigious university colleges, Knox and Selwyn will meet on the brand new Forsyth Barr Stadium turf as part of the opening celebrations on Friday 5th August.

The two rugby teams, made up of students from the University of Otago, will be among the first to use the pitch in a lunchtime event that is open to the public by a gold coin donation.

Knox and Selwyn have been rivals on the sporting field for over 100 years and will compete for the Cameron Shield when they meet on opening day.

David Davies, Forsyth Barr Stadium CEO commented, “These are both historic university colleges with a strong rugby tradition and connection to Dunedin, so it is fitting that they play a part in what is going to be a very special day.”
“The lunch time event will allow people to be part of the opening celebrations that will kick off in the morning with a Mana Whenua dawn blessing by local iwi, attended by the Prime Minister, John Key. It’s a much anticipated day and we want as many people as possible to get along to either or both of these events.”

“This will be the first test event on the pitch so is an important event for us to gauge crowd behavior and get one under our belt before the Heartland Championship match between North Otago and the West Coast a couple of days later.”

Alongside a proud academic tradition, the two Colleges have housed a number of All Blacks. “Selwyn alone has had nine All Blacks. All of them played in previous editions of this competition with Knox”, Selwyn College head, Dr David Clark said.

Many of these All Blacks were also notable academics. “This mixture of sporting and academic success is a source of pride for both Colleges”, Dr David Clark said. “Over the years, more than a dozen Rhodes’ scholars have passed through Selwyn or Knox.”

Profits from the event will go to a local charity.

The public will be seated in the North Stand and access will be through Gate D.
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