History
The stadium's grandstands and terraces were built in 1916, and it became the home of rugby league in Auckland from 1921. It was named after James Carlaw, the chairman of the Auckland Rugby League managing committee who secured the land in 1920 and developed the ground further.
The ground was officially opened on 25 June 1921 and City Rovers defeated Maritime 10-8 on the opening day in front of 7,000 fans. Herb Lunn scored the first try and Eric Grey kicked the first goal on the ground. The Auckland Rugby League spent ₤4322 on capital expenditure in developing the ground. The ground was purchased for $200,000 in 1974.
During its long history it hosted many matches in various Rugby League World Cups. The stadium capacity was officially listed as 17,000 when it closed in 2002 due to health and safety reasons. Between 1924 and 1999 Carlaw Park hosted sixty-eight Test matches. The largest Test crowd was an estimated 28,000 during the 1928 Great Britain tour.
Read more about this topic: Carlaw Park
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