Grounds
The Crusaders' main home ground is the 36,000-capacity AMI Stadium in Christchurch, however they did not play there during the 2011 Super Rugby season due to damage inflicted by the February Christchurch earthquake. The Crusaders usually take one game each year to another part of the franchise area, most often when the New Zealand cricket team is playing at AMI Stadium. Previous venues have included Trafalgar Park in Nelson, and Alpine Energy Stadium in Timaru. As part of the pre-match buildup when playing at home, Conquest of Paradise is played while several horsemen dressed as knights circle the field.
The Crusaders' management proposed playing a 2005 regular season match in Melbourne when Jade Stadium was unavailable. Although five of the franchise's seven provincial Unions supported having the regular season game in Melbourne, the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) vetoed the proposal. In 2006, the Crusaders did play a pre-season match in Melbourne against the Western Force at Olympic Park Stadium. They did the same in the 2008 preseason as well, also against the Force.
Due to the 2011 earthquake, the Crusaders played four games at Trafalgar Park, and two in Timaru during their 2011 season. They also played a "home" game in Wellington in Round 18 against Hurricanes, and a special home match against the Sharks at Twickenham in London. The London match was a fundraiser for earthquake relief, and was the first Super Rugby match ever contested outside of the three participating countries. In the first 30 hours of ticket sales, over 30,000 were purchased; a spokesman for United Ticketmaster indicated that the response was the strongest he had experienced for a rugby match outside of internationals.
With AMI Stadium still out of commission for the 2012 season, the Crusaders have indicated that Rugby League Park in Addington would act as their home ground for that season in order to recentralise their games in one location as opposed to the road show that was the 2011 season. The ground will get a limited makeover taking it to an 18,600 capacity and bringing its facilities to the minimum standards required of the Super Rugby competition. Whether or not the ground will be their home for one season or longer term remains to be seen.
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