Wellington's Westpac Stadium has been selected as the host venue for New Zealand's World Cup play-off against Saudi Arabia or Bahrain, announced New Zealand Football (NZF).
North Harbour Stadium and Waikato Stadium also tendered bids to stage the 14 Nov match but Wellington won out because of its bigger capacity.
"With a match of this magnitude we need to give ourselves the best possible chance of qualifying," NZF chief executive Michael Glading said in a statement. "If players feel more comfortable in one venue and we can get an extra 8000 fans playing their part, that could just be the edge needed to realise the dream of reaching the World Cup again."
Saudi Arabia and Bahrain play each other home and away in September with the winner to host New Zealand on 10 Oct before the return leg in Wellington. New Zealand have qualified for the FIFA World Cup™ once, in 1982, but advanced to the play-offs this time after winning the Oceania qualifying division. "This fixture is easily the most important football match ever played in New Zealand," Glading said.
