ANZ Premiership teams prepare for home matches
New Zealand’s six ANZ Premiership teams will prepare for home matches from 30 July with netball returning to venues around the country.
The revised schedule includes round robin games in Invercargill, Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, Porirua, Hamilton and Auckland.
Netball NZ Head of Events and International Kate Agnew said it had been a huge undertaking to ensure teams could give their fans an opportunity to see live netball.
“To get the 2020 ANZ Premiership back on court has been a joint effort between Netball NZ and the ANZ Premiership teams to achieve this,” she said.
“We have reworked venue availability, accommodation and travel options in order to take the competition around the country.”
“We understand that playing in front of home fans is a huge part of the game and we know how important it is for the ANZ Premiership teams to have that opportunity.”
The first six weeks of the revamped ANZ Premiership schedule will see all games played at the Auckland Netball Centre with Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse, The Good Oil Tactix and Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel commuting via chartered flights. The Northern Mystics, Robinhood Northern Stars and Splice Construction Magic will travel by road to the Auckland venue.
But from Thursday 30 July, the draw changes with games moved to home venues in Christchurch, Auckland, Hamilton and Porirua for the Round 8 fixtures.
Invercargill, Wellington and Dunedin will also have the opportunity to host round robin games with the regular season concluding on Monday 17 August ahead of a triple-header Finals Series on Sunday 23 August.