Northland will host a Super Rugby match after a 10-year hiatus, and organisers are promising a family-friendly day with a mid-afternoon kickoff.
Semenoff Stadium in Northland will be the venue for the Blues v Melbourne Rebels clash in the Super Rugby Pacific competition on Saturday, March 5, and several stakeholders in Northland are deep into planning for the day.
Kickoff is at 2.35pm to attract as many families as possible.
It will be the fourth Super Rugby match the Blues have played in Whangārei since the competition started in 1996.
The last was in March 2011 when the team beat the Cheetahs 29-23. Prior to that, the Blues narrowly lost to the Cats 26-23 in 2001 and thumped the Queensland Reds 62-20.
The Blues have played pre-season games in Kaikohe and on the border in Mahurangi, and have staged training camps in Tutukaka and Kerikeri since 2011.
Whangārei District Council venues and events manager Carina de Graaf said hosting a Super Rugby game was a significant achievement for the region and watching Northland players representing the Blues on their home turf was the ultimate experience.
"This event will be huge for our community. The timing is perfect for whānau and allows plenty of travel time. It will be beneficial to the local business community, who have greatly suffered over the last couple of years.
"We can't wait to see Whangārei full of visitors that weekend enjoying our cafes, restaurants and beaches."
Northland Rugby Union chief executive Cameron Bell is equally excited, saying the chance to see some of our local heroes running out onto Semenoff Stadium in the Blues colours would be awesome after two years of Covid-affected rugby.
"We welcome the Rebels from Melbourne in hearty Northland fashion, but warn them that our pride and passion is right behind our Blues.
"The Northland Rugby Union team are already deep into planning with the Blues to ensure that the event is a fantastic family-friendly day, and we are looking at some really cool initiatives to help schools in our region."
Blues CEO Andrew Hore said his team would be on hand working with communities in Northland because they knew people would come out in droves for the game in Whangārei.
A number of fans from Auckland and North Harbour would hopefully take the chance for a weekend away in a very special part of the Blues region, Hore said.
"We are committed to develop the pathway for players and coaches in our region and Northland are a fundamental part of that mix.
"We have travelled north for pre-season and non-competition games, and it has been an ideal destination for training camps."
Hore thanked NRU and WDC for their support to enable the Blues to bring this fixture to life in front of a full stadium.
Tickets will go on sale in early December, with a special offer for families. There will also be a ticket opportunity that will help raise funds for local schools and junior rugby clubs in Northland. Details will be released next week.
Next season, the Blues will introduce family-friendly afternoon games at Eden Park in Auckland after a response from their fans over the last two seasons.
Three of the seven home games for the Blues will be afternoon kickoffs, including the opening game at Eden Park against exciting competition newcomers the Fijian Drua on Saturday, February 19.
Another home game, against the Hurricanes on March 27, will be a Sunday-afternoon kickoff.
The new Super Rugby Pacific format has New Zealand teams playing two other Kiwi teams once and two of them twice.
