The spiritual home of the All Blacks, Eden Park traditionally provides the finale of a Lions Tour to New Zealand and it will be no different in 2017.
The first and third Tests will be held at the ground but the Lions will get an early glimpse when they take on the Auckland Blues there on June 7.
Eden Park – founded in 1900 – is home to both the Blues and the Auckland ITM Cup side and is New Zealand’s largest and most iconic stadium with a capacity of 50,000.
Every year the stadium – located in the Kingsland suburb in the heart of Auckland – hosts almost half a million sports fans.
It was cricketer Harry Ryan who first came up with the idea of using the swamp ground for sport, then the Auckland Rugby Union leased the Park in 1913 before the All Blacks played their first Test there in 1921 against the Springboks.
The Lions first Test in Auckland was back in 1908 at Potter’s Park and their initial matches at Eden Park were in 1930 when they faced Auckland and New Zealand.
Since then it has played host to any number of historic moments – from the 1950 Empire Games (now Commonwealths) to the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 and the 1992 Cricket World Cup.
A $256 million redevelopment was completed in October 2010 to provide a permanent capacity of 50,000, with a further 10,000 temporary seats for the 2011 Rugby World Cup games including the final.
Winning at Eden Park is a rare achievement. The All Blacks have not lost at the ground since 1994 and are on a 37-Test unbeaten streak there.
It has been the site of some of the Lions most legendary encounters.
In 1971 those famous, history-making Lions claimed a 14-14 draw thanks to JPR Williams’ legendary drop goal, while six years later the 1977 Lions went down by just one point despite the heroics of Dougie Morgan.
The only Lions Test win on the ground belongs to the 1959 tourists, who claimed a famous victory with tries from Bev Risman, Tony O’Reilly and Peter Jackson in their final match before heading home.
