Taranaki Rugby have been left searching for a new home for this season's Mitre 10 Cup after the assosciation announced Yarrow Stadium could not be used due to safety reasons.
The arena's owners, the Taranaki Stadium Trust, have made the decision to keep fans and players safe after a geotechnical testing of Yarrow Stadium's West Stand showed it was a "significant earthquake risk".
The testing was conducted after a November report discovered the East Stand was also earthquake-prone.
TST trustee Mike Nield said in a statement the stadium's future was uncertain but options were being looked into.
"It's a real blow and we apologise to everyone involved. The Trust informed key partners, including the TRFU, of the report's findings yesterday.
"This is a blow but we remain committed to having a facility in Taranaki capable of hosting top-flight sporting events.
"We'll be looking at our options and while the loss of Yarrow for 2018 is a setback, it gives us opportunities to look at some of the different choices available to us."
Taranaki enter this year's Mitre 10 Cup as the Ranfurly Shield holders after they took the Log o' Wood off Canterbury with a 55-43 win last October.
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