Latest news with #Taupō
NZ Herald
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
Four Lotto players in Bay of Plenty score $30,746 each
Winning more than $30,000 will have three Bay of Plenty Lotto players jumping for joy – or perhaps partying like kings – this holiday weekend. A Taupō player also won the $30,000 in Lotto's Second Division draw on Saturday night.
1News
23-05-2025
- Automotive
- 1News
Supercars clutch New Zealand double-header for 2026
Supercars fans will be treated to a New Zealand double-header with a trip to Christchurch added for the 2026 championship and onwards. As reported by 1News last month, drivers will take their title hunt to Ruapuna Raceway in the touring car category's first visit to the South Island. The venue is located 15km west of Christchurch and will host Supercars events until at least the end of the 2028 season. Outgoing Supercars chief executive Shane Howard described the double-header as a dream come true, adding that New Zealand fans make up 20% of the sport's total audience. Ruapuna Raceway has become the first South Island track to host the showpiece event. (Source: 1News) "This is an incredibly exciting day for Supercars and for fans across New Zealand," Howard said in a statement. "Christchurch is a motorsport city, and Ruapuna is a circuit with huge potential. "This is a passionate community with a proud history, and we are thrilled to bring Supercars to the South Island for the first time. "We know what Supercars means to New Zealanders. This is going to be a two-week celebration of Kiwi motorsport that will rival any on our calendar." Friday's announcement comes after a popular return to New Zealand in 2024. Taupō International Motorsport Park has hosted Supercars events with much success after fan favourite Pukehoke Park was converted to a thoroughbred racing track in 2022. More than 67,000 fans attended the inaugural Taupō event across three days, with Kiwi star Matt Payne collecting the coveted Jason Richards Memorial Trophy following two race wins this year. Taupō would also remain on the Supercars calendar until 2028.
Otago Daily Times
22-05-2025
- Automotive
- Otago Daily Times
Christchurch to host Supercars in three-year NZ double-header
New Zealand will stage two Supercar rounds for the next three years after Christchurch was confirmed as the first-ever South Island venue. A revamped Ruapuna Raceway will host rounds of the Australasian touring car championship from 2026-28, along with Taupō, which has extended its deal for the same period. It will be the first time New Zealand has staged two rounds in the same season, with Supercars chief executive Shane Howard hailing the work of numerous bodies to bring racing to the club-run Ruapuna venue, 15km west of Christchurch. Howard said the government, Christchurch City Council's economic development agency and the Canterbury Car Club worked together to present a financially-sound vision. "This is an incredibly exciting day for Supercars and for fans across New Zealand," Howard said. "Christchurch is a motorsport city, and Ruapuna is a circuit with huge potential. This is a passionate community with a proud history, and we are thrilled to bring Supercars to the South Island for the first time. "Since Supercars' first visit to New Zealand in 2001, more than 2.3 million fans have attended championship events across the country and we're thrilled to be bringing a second event to the country that makes up 20 per cent of our total audience. "We know what Supercars means to New Zealanders. This is going to be a two-week celebration of Kiwi motorsport that will rival any on our calendar." Ruapuna Raceway will undergo a multimillion-dollar upgrade ahead of the event, including track resurfacing and a rebuilt supporters' lounge. Canterbury Car Club has already raised nearly $1 million toward the first stage of development. Club president, Lewis Low said he was proud the club had been added to the Supercars calendar. "This is a dream come true for our club and for motorsport fans right across the South Island. It's the result of years of hard work from our dedicated volunteers and supporters, and we couldn't be more excited to welcome Supercars to our home," he said. "Ruapuna has a proud grassroots heritage, and this investment will help us transform the venue into a world-class facility that can deliver an unforgettable experience for fans, teams and drivers alike." Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston said the announcement was significant. "For more than 20 years Supercars Championship events have played an important role showcasing our beautiful country to an international audience and I'm thrilled the South Island will now be part of this from next year," she said. "I'm pleased that with this investment from our Major Events Fund, New Zealand's strong relationship with Supercars will continue in Taupo and extend to include Christchurch, with all the benefits that brings." Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger expected the event in Ruapuna would "inject millions into our local economy - from tourism and hospitality to local jobs and infrastructure". More than 67,000 fans were attracted to the event at Taupō International Motorsport Park last year, resulting in 22,000 visitor nights and $5.8 million in visitor spending. Taupō District mayor David Trewavas was delighted to receive confirmation for three more years. "The Supercars event has already proven to be a huge success for our community - it brings energy, visitors, and international attention to our district," Trewavas said. "To see it grow into a two-week New Zealand celebration alongside Christchurch is fantastic for the whole country."
NZ Herald
22-05-2025
- Automotive
- NZ Herald
Christchurch to host SuperCars event for first time, Ruapuna Raceway and Taupō locked in until 2028
Ruapuna Raceway will host the first-ever Supercars event in the South Island with the Christchurch venue named on the schedule from next year. The announcement marks a major moment for Supercars and Kiwi motorsport, as the category locks in a two-event presence in both the North and South Islands, with the Taupō race also locked in until 2028. Just 15km west of the city, Ruapuna Raceway will bring Supercars to Christchurch – a city steeped in motorsport culture, now ready for its biggest-ever event. 'This is an incredibly exciting day for Supercars and for fans across New Zealand,' said Supercars CEO Shane Howard. 'We've always wanted to race in the South Island, and thanks to the commitment of the New Zealand Government, ChristchurchNZ, Christchurch City Council and the incredible work of the Canterbury Car Club, that dream will become a reality from 2026,' Howard said.
BBC News
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Taupō: New Zealand dinosaur sculpture Boom Boom fuels debate
Some have called it an "eyesaur". Many more have described it as "fabulous".But one word Boom Boom, a seven-metre tall stainless steel dinosaur sculpture in New Zealand, could never be associated with is "boring".Just days after the sauropod statue was installed in Taupō Sculpture Park, in the scenic centre of New Zealand's North Island, Boom Boom has already prompted heated debate among artist - and the team that commissioned it - say that's exactly the point. The mirror-finish sculpture was commissioned by the Taupō Sculpture Trust and created by Slovenian-born artist Gregor said that he wasn't "particularly surprised" by the furore that quickly surrounded his work."Sculpture sometimes stops people from their everyday interactions with the world," he told the BBC from his home in Auckland. "It's really hard to hate a sculpture of a dinosaur."Still, public opinion on Boom Boom is split."Fantastic! Getting people talking about art. Broadening the conversation," said one commenter on a social media post announcing Boom Boom's another wrote: "Public investment of $100,000 from the local ratepayers, many of who would have rather seen the money spent elsewhere in the community."Funding for Boom Boom was finalised in 2018, before recent hikes in Taupō District Council's rate which is similar to a council several years of negotiations, the work was completed and installed in the park last still criticised the work as having no connection with Taupō, named New Zealand's most beautiful town in the 2023 Keep New Zealand Beautiful Kregar said the rock that the dinosaur stands on is inspired by the volcanic history of the area. Lake Taupō, from which the town takes its name, is a large caldera, a volcano that has collapsed in on itself. It last erupted around 1,800 years the inspiration for Boom Boom, are one of a few species of dinosaurs that paleontologists say lived in New Zealand. They became extinct 66 million years ago, along with most other non-avian says the spirited debate around the sculpture means Boom Boom could eventually win round "the haters"."You put the sculpture out there, there is reaction, people start falling in love with it, and then it becomes something that they start embracing, part of the local identity," he Gillies, secretary of the Taupō Sculpture Trust, told the BBC that the decision to commission Boom Boom was not taken "lightly", but that it was chosen because "it would help put Taupō on the map".Gillies added that when it comes to the art, "safe is a bit boring, right?"No bones about it.
