Western Springs Stadium - History

History

Western Springs Stadium was built on land gifted by the pioneer Timber Millers of the Motion family for a sports stadium. Situated in a natural amphitheatre, concrete terracing was constructed. It was designed and modelled on European stadiums which included a banked concrete cycling track, a cinder running track and a grassed centre area for football and sports. The original design included a covered grandstand which would fill the gap between the concrete terraces, the cycling track finishing straight was designed and built to start and finish in front of the proposed grandstand (where the pit area now is). The stadium was never completed.

1929 the stadium built by Relief Labour was opened to serve cycling, athletics and football sports . The cycling track was over 500 yards in circumference as the European tracks were then. The cinder all weather Athletic 440 yard running track was the first of its type in NZ and it with the overall stadium would have easily compared to the famous Wembley Stadium in England. It was not until November 30, 1936 that the first motorcycle racing commenced on the cinder running track (as they did on Wembley). In December 1937 midget car racing was introduced at a special international meeting, it included NZ pioneers Ron Roycroft and Geo Smith. The first official season then followed in January 1938. Speedway was still being raced at the previous venue at the Epsom Showgrounds. Athletics disappeared from Western Springs as a result and New Zealand's only all weather Athletics track was replaced by the traditional grass tracks until the late 1960s. When the first of the new style all weather athletics tracks were built. Western Springs was many years ahead of its time with the acknowledged all weather cinder surface in 1929.

1950's saw promoters "take over" with the blessing of the Auckland City Council pleased to receive a monetary return. The early promoters combined Cycling, Motorcycle Speedway and Speedway Cars who all raced together on the same program with a large following. The war intervened and in 1944 Speedway became a huge entertainment and the formula of Cycling, Speedway Bikes and Midgets reached International heights. Western Springs was well and truly the home of Speedway with wheelsports including cycling.

Speedway previously had competed on Epsom Showgrounds, Blanford Park on the old cycling track around the soccer field (now under the Grafton Gully motorway) and Olympic Park (Saraway Park) in Newmarket.

Stock car promoters raised the height of the speedway/running track introducing stock cars and forcing speedway motorcycling out, who relocated to Rosebank Road. Speedway cars were affected at this time by a conflict with Stock Car promoters. During the 1960s Cycling was forced out of the stadium as the promoters in tandem with the Auckland City Council made access difficult and later impossible with the requirement of the speedway track. The Auckland City Council had little regard to Amateur sports as Cycling and Athletics, and also to the stadium itself, never completing the complex and building the Grandstands. So much neglect they allowed the deterioration of the main concrete terraces which slipped away during the 1960s almost taking the cycling track with it. It took months to effect repairs, under strong public criticism they finally did some thing to re-instate the damaged terraces. The surrounding stadium grounds deteriorated into a Council yard with derelict equipment and buildings littering the boundary of the site which spread to the adjoining Lake and Pump House and abandoned relief campsite. Speedway Cars resurged into a new golden era when stock cars went to Gloucester Park and finally Waikaraka Park.

Because cycling was forced out the cycling track was never able to be used again, so it was removed to widen the new speedway midget race track, at the same time smaller cycling velodromes track sizes became the International requirement.

The 1960s saw a brief return of what the stadium concept originally was; this was assisted by the Speedway promoter who laid the athletic track. On the success of Peter Snells' Olympic victories an International Athletic and Cycling event was held with the largest crowd recorded for the stadium. It was larger than the 1950 British Empire Games cycling events and Closing Ceremony.

Two concerts held at the stadium were the largest concerts ever in the Southern Hemisphere at the time (although since overtaken by Rock in Rio). On 26 November 1983, the final date of David Bowie's Serious Moonlight World Tour was attended by either 74,480 fans (according to bootleg recordings) or by 83,000 (according to the promoter years later ). On 14 March 1987, over 80,000 fans saw the concert by ZZ Top.

At the top of the hill that forms the amphitheatre is a street of houses - the residents have a view into the stadium from their back gardens. This has often been referred to by the artists on stage, who have often encouraged the residents to donate money to charity in lieu of an entrance fee - notably, Bono from U2 (1989) and Robbie Williams (2003). In 1993's ZooTV show, Bono made a mid-performance phone call to one of the neighbouring properties with a grandstand built in the backyard overlooking the stadium, and earlier in the day the band had sent up a selection of tour merchandise to attempt to sell to the viewers.

In February 2007, the WWE Road To Wrestlemania 23 Tour came to Western Spring attracting over 12,000 WWE fans.