Carisbrook is a major sporting venue in Dunedin, New Zealand. The city`s main sporting venue, it is an international venue for both rugby union and cricket, it has also been used for other sports such as soccer. Floodlit since the 1990s, it can cater for both day and night fixtures. Known locally simply as "The Brook", it has also picked up the nickname of "The house of pain", due to its reputation as a difficult ground for visiting teams.

Located at the foot of The Glen, a steep valley, the ground is flanked by the South Island Main Trunk Railway and the Hillside Railway Workshops, two miles southwest of Dunedin city centre in the suburb of Caversham. State Highway 1 also runs close to the northern perimeter of the ground.

Carisbrook was named after the estate of early colonial settler James Macandrew (itself named after a castle in the Isle of Wight). Developed during the 1870s, it was first used for international cricket in 1883, when Otago hosted a team from Tasmania. It has been hosting rugby union internationals since 1908 and full cricket internationals since 1955.

The stadium is home to the Otago rugby team in the National Provincial Championship and to the Highlanders Super 14 rugby team. It is also the home of Otago cricket, although the redevelopment of the University Oval at Logan Park in the north of the city could see this sport's association with the stadium diminish.

Unique atmosphere

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The ground's capacity is around 35,000. Until recent years, the sides of a major road overlooking the ground were known as the "Scotsman's Grandstand", from which a free view of the action could be easily obtained. The development of a new stand and corporate boxes on that side of the ground during the 1990s have rendered this tradition a thing of the past.

Due, at least in part, to Dunedin's sizable number of tertiary students (20,000 of the city's 120,000 population), Carisbrook has a unique atmosphere, particularly for major games. This is also partly due to the terraces, an uncovered concrete embankment at the eastern end of the ground—reputedly the last open terracing at any major sports venue in New Zealand.

The combination of students and terraces can occasionally be responsible for as much excitement and activity in the crowd as on the ground itself—on one infamous occasion which has now passed into Dunedin folklore, one group on the terraces set fire to a sofa they had carried to the ground as their own comfortable terrace seating.

As of 2005, the ground in general and the terraces in particular are under threat. The demands of modern international sport have led to calls for the ground to be significantly upgraded or replaced. If the propositions go ahead, the Carisbrook terraces will be replaced with seats.

See also

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• The Edgar Centre

Buildings and structures in New Zealand | Cricket grounds in New Zealand | Dunedin | Rugby union stadiums in New Zealand | Rugby World Cup stadiums