Anyone who didn’t feel excited for and proud of Christchurch over the long weekend might need to check if they’ve still got a pulse. 

Because what a ripper.  

And anyone who thinks our brand new One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha isn’t going to be Christchurch's greatest asset then, maybe, they were at home all weekend and didn’t see what was going on.  

Thousands of visitors in town for the Super Rugby Super Round. Numbers thrown around say 14,000 people visited - 4,000 of them from Australia. 

ChristchurchNZ had estimated it would pump $6 million into the economy. But it’s now saying that it will probably be more than that. 

I’m in no doubt about that. I see the church pub alone sold 50 kegs of beer on Friday night. We did some numbers over dinner last night and worked out that that would have been at least $50,000 in beer sales. 

At one pub. On one night. That doesn’t count the beer sold on Saturday and sunday. 

Naturally, Crusaders boss Colin Mansbridge is pushing for Christchurch to host the Super Round again. I think he’s got a multi-year deal in his sights. 

And, crucially, Super Rugby Chief Executive Jack Mesley isn’t ruling it out. 

Although, he’s hardly going to poo-poo it when he’s here and everyone’s on a high because of how well it went. 

But he did say before jumping on the plane back to Sydney that Christchurch definitely has a head start over other New Zealand cities. 

Which we do. Tell that to the Mayor of Dunedin, though, who is saying this morning that they’re going to be looking into the viability of hosting the Super Round in Dunners.   

One ting that occurred to me at the weekend, was who needs Russell Coutts and Sail GP now we’ve got this brilliant stadium facility? 

Which is why I think it is going to be Christchurch's single greatest asset. If it isn’t already. 

I know that Friday night, especially, was a milestone. It was the end of a very long wait. It was another one of those symbolic and emotional moments when we realise just how far we have come as a city.  

And I know not every Crusaders game at One New Zealand Stadium is necessarily going to attract 25,000 people. 

And I know that not everyone is a rugby fan. 

But you can’t deny the good the Super Round did for our city over the weekend, and the good the stadium is going to continue doing. 

Just imagine what it’s going to be like next month when Six60 headlines the first big concert at the stadium. Which is sold out. 

You imagine what it’s going to be like when the Warriors play here in June. Again, another sell-out. 

And imagine what it’s going to be like in July when the All Blacks play France under the roof. That match is well on its way to being sold out too. 

So the weekend was just the start. And what a brilliant start it was too. 

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