McLean Park
Napier, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand
McLean Park, Napier, New Zealand — opened Established as parkland in 1911, on land purchased in 1905 as a memorial to Sir Donald McLean, 11 rugby league games hosted, home of Hawke's Bay (rugby union, NPC) is the long-term principal tenant; used occasionally by the NZ Warriors (NRL) for standalone/pre-season fixtures rather than as a permanent rugby league home.
Ground facts
| Opened | Established as parkland in 1911, on land purchased in 1905 as a memorial to Sir Donald McLean (The ground's first match of any code (rugby union, 1912) roughly coincides with its first rugby league fixture, an inter-district match later the same year — the two should not be conflated.) |
| Home club | Hawke's Bay (rugby union, NPC) is the long-term principal tenant; used occasionally by the NZ Warriors (NRL) for standalone/pre-season fixtures rather than as a permanent rugby league home |
| Games hosted (rugby league, on record) | 11 |
| Top recorded crowd | 16,195 |
| Capacity | 19,700 |
| Test matches hosted | 2 |
| Floodlights installed | Yes — first floodlit night match 1965 (Hawke's Bay v Invitation XV); the All Blacks' first home floodlit Test was played here in 1996 |
| Surface | Grass, re-turfed in 2018 |
| First rugby league match | 22 September 1912 — Hawke's Bay 8-10 Canterbury (Inter-District) |
| Years used | 1912–2026 |
| Location | Napier, Hawke's Bay |
Name history
- Sir Donald McLean Park — original name
- McLean Park — current, shortened form
Rugby league history
A significant regional New Zealand venue for representative and touring rugby league across more than a century — hosting interprovincial fixtures from 1912, a Kangaroos tour match (1919), a Great Britain Lions tour fixture (1990), and, in the modern era, NRL premiership matches including Melbourne Storm v St George Illawarra (2015, the ground's first NRL fixture), Warriors v Brisbane Broncos (2023), and a Warriors pre-season fixture (2026). Also a noted rugby union and cricket venue, having hosted All Blacks Tests and 1987 Rugby World Cup matches.
Historic Test matches, Cup & Grand Finals hosted
- 1919 — Hawke's Bay 4-67 Australia (Kangaroos tour)
- 1990 — New Zealand Presidents XIII v Great Britain (Lions tour)
Pre-dates the site's structured match-by-match records for these competitions, so listed here as sourced facts rather than linked match pages.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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