Information on Yarrow Stadium New Plymouth
Yarrow Stadium New Plymouth, is home of the Taranaki Rugby Football Union and is another stadium which is close to the city centre but a little tricky to find if you do not know the way. We approached from the South and so went in via Vogelton, Frankleigh Park and then using Tukapas St into Westown. This route took us straight to Maratahu St. A more direct route would have been to go right at Frankleigh Park onto Frankley Road and then turn left into Maratahu St, coming from route 3 and the town it would have been a right turn off Frankleigh St. The main entrance to the stadium is off Maratahu St, but is easily missed as it is a very small drive with a nondescript sign. Once into the area of the stadium you arrive at a reasonably sized car park, but one that will probably only hold a few hundred cars. There is some on street parking in the area and a further entrance to the ground on the corner of Tukapa St and Maratahu St through gate 1.
The stadium is currently undergoing a refit and has a new main stand which also holds probably a dozen corporate boxes above the seating. There is a further covered stand opposite and at both ends of the ground some of the banking has been replaced with open air seating. This does mean that there is now a limited amount of standing area behind both these stands. The changes mean the capacity will be 25,500 plus.
The ground is within walking distance of the centre of town but we did not notice that it is well signposted until you are close. However the lights can be seen from some distance. The approach from town also gives the benefit of Mt Taranaki (Mt Egmont) as a superb backdrop. New Plymouth like many New Zealand Cities has a limited population under 100,000 and yet covers a massive area probably as big as Reading in the UK. The Airport is 7km out of town so if using this means of transport allow plenty of time to get into town. New Plymouth is also a long drive from any other centres so you will almost certainly need to stay locally.
