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Regional | Netball

Magic to rename stadium in honour of Kopua

Veteran Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic and Silver Fern Casey Kopua will be honoured this weekend, with Claudelands Arena set to be renamed for her final match before retirement.

This Sunday’s clash with the Northern Mystics will take place at Casey Kopua Arena, to recognise her 17 years in the team. The 33-year-old Kopua has played 186 times for Magic, after making her debut as a teenager in 2003.

As well as her long service to the Magic, she has also played 104 tests for the Silver Ferns since her debut in 2005 and became the side’s captain in 2009. Her national honours include two Commonwealth Games gold medals and three silvers at the Netball World Championships.

Sean Murray, the Council’s General Manager for Venues, Tourism and Events, says naming the court after Kopua reflects her mana.

“Claudelands is Casey’s home court, and her efforts here for the Magic have been roared on by the crowd for more than a decade,” Mr Murray says.

“When the Magic approached us about this acknowledgement for one of their team’s stalwarts, we were immediately on-board – Casey really deserves a tribute of this kind as she signs off on a great career, which we’re proud to have been a part of.”

Netball Waikato Bay of Plenty Chief Executive Rohan West says it’s a fitting tribute to Kopua.

“There’d hardly be a better way to honour Casey. In a venue that witnessed some of her greatest individual and team performances, and in a city where the fans adore her, it seems a natural thing to do,” he says.

Last season, the Southern Steel honoured long-serving mid-courter Wendy Frew by renaming ILT Stadium Southland in her honour for her final home match before retirement, an elimination playoff against the Tactix.  It proved to be an auspicious move as they then won the match and then the 2018 ANZ Netball Premiership title four days later.

It follows the trend started by the Crusaders last season, who renamed their home ground ‘Wyatt Crockett Stadium’, for the impending retirement of their long-serving All Black prop. They too went on the win the 2018 Super Rugby title.

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