Rugby World Cup
Stadium Otago set to make World Cup deadline
ESPNscrum Staff
June 1, 2011
Construction Continues on the Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin, New Zealand, February 25, 2011
Construction is ongoing at Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium © Getty Images
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Rugby World Cup organisers are confident that work on the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin will be completed on schedule.

The NZ$198.3m arena, a replacement for the city's historic Carisbrook ground, is on course to open its doors in August, leaving only a handful of provincial matches before the World Cup gets underway.

North Otago and West Coast are set to play the first game at the ground, which will be re-christened as Stadium Otago for the World Cup, before Otago host Manawatu on August 17. England and Argentina will then take to the field for their World Cup pool game on September 10.

"If you walked in there now you'd think it was finished. It really will absolutely blow people away but there are just a few more things we have to do," Carisbrook Stadium Trust chairman Malcolm Farry told The New Zealand Herald.

With 100 days to go before the World Cup, IRB vice chairman Bill Beaumont was pleased with how preparations have progressed.

"All other stadia redevelopments have been completed on time, match day preparations are well advanced and I know teams will be well looked after so I have no doubt the platform has been laid for an excellent tournament," he said.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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