QEII Park History

Built for the Xth Commonwealth Games in 1974, Queen Elizabeth II Park (QEII Park) is an icon of sport and recreation in Christchurch and New Zealand. The complex is owned and operated by the Christchurch City Council, and is a venue for significant sporting events, concerts, sport training and family recreation.

In 1963 the Christchurch City Council purchased 121 acres of land from the New Brighton Trotting Course. It wasn’t until 1972 that construction began on this formidable project. Through foresight and planning the City Council was able to provide a world-class sporting venue to accommodate the 1974 Commonwealth Games and a public facility for the community. A tremendous amount of work and planning was undertaken to ensure the facility was to be a focal point for Christchurch and New Zealand in hosting the 1974 Games. The City Council named the facility Queen Elizabeth II Park to mark the visit of Her Majesty at the Commonwealth Games.

The concept of having an athletic stadium back-to-back to the swimming pool hall was unique for that era, and the complex was designed to manage large events and to enable the opportunity for future development. The original facility included an Athletic Stadium with a 400m track, electronic score board, and seating for 34,000. The Pool Hall included a 50m, 8 lane swimming pool, 30m dive well and towers, 33 1/3m training lane pool, and learners pool. A Recreation Centre with seven squash courts, and weight training facilities was also built on site. In addition there were modern change rooms, lounges, function rooms and a cafeteria.

The opening ceremony of the Xth British Commonwealth Games on 24 January 1974, had a capacity crowd of 34,000. There were two weeks of competition. Highlights of New Zealand’s medal count included Dick Tayler gold medal 10,000m, John Walker 1500m sliver medal, Jaynie Parkhouse gold 800m freestyle, Mark Treffers 400m individual medley. The Games were heralded a spectacular success.

Some other event highlights over the years have included Sweetwater’s 1984 concert with U2, Simple Minds, Talking Heads and the Pretenders, the 1989 World Games for the Deaf, the 1995 Eagles concert, the 1996 ACDC concert, the 1999 FIFA World U17 world Championship, and the 2002 World Masters Swimming.

In later years one of the lounges was revamped into an aerobics studio and gym for the local community. QEII swim schools have developed into a strong provider of learn to swim classes for children in Christchurch. To increase the viability of the venue, QEII Park became a provider of family leisure in 1981, with the opening of the worlds first indoor Hydroslide. The 110m double slide operated for 20 years, and over that time catered for over 2 million patrons. In 2001 the slide was closed to make way for the new ‘wave' in swimming pools with the construction of the new leisure and wave pool.

Looking to the future...

QEII Park has attracted up to 930,000 people through the doors each year, and this is estimated to increase to 1.5 million with the completion of the pools redevelopment project that began in 2000. This project was the first significant amount of funding the Council has spent on the facility since its construction in 1974. The $20.7m pool redevelopment involved rebuilding the aquatic facility, and included $11m for deferred facility maintenance. QEII Park has now been upgraded for the new millennium, a facility Christchurch can once again be proud of. The new aquatic facilities include a 50m international standard competition pool, themed fun leisure pool with 40m wave pool, and children’s teach pool.

QEII Park is at the cutting edge of pool design and technology, using LPG energy supply, ozone water treatment, heat recovery and a superior heating and ventilation system creating a pool environment that is clean and fresh, no longer hot and stuffy. The new leisure pool is an unrivalled water fantasy world making it an unforgettable experience where people just have to come back for more.

The deferred maintenance money has also permitted QEII Park to upgrade the athletic track surface. The new Mondo surface maximise athletes energy return when impacting with the track, enabling an athlete to have 11/2 less strides over 100m. The unequalled Mondo surface has been the official track surface for seven consecutive Olympics.