Christchurch's AMI stadium should be ready to host sports events again by early next year with the Government announcing a four million dollar grant to repair the pitch in the wake of last month's earthquake.
The stadium repairs are covered by insurance but the turf isn't.
The venue's lost its seven Rugby World Cup games with the International Rugby Board moving them to other centres.
Brian Pearson, the chief executive of V-Base, the company which manages AMI stadium, says there's extensive damage to the playing surface and the four kilometres of turf drains half a metre below the surface, some of which are full of soil from liquifaction.
