A 34-year-old man charged with setting fire to Auckland's Pullman Hotel shortly after the start of the FIFA Women's World Cup can now be named.
Among those evacuated from the hotel on the evening of Saturday July 22 were the Football Ferns, and a number of overseas visitors who had travelled here for the tournament.
Guests and staff returned to the hotel later that evening.
The man charged with arson is Travis Te Ao Wirihana Brown. He pleaded not guilty at his first appearance and elected trial by jury. Name suppression lapsed today.
Following the fire New Zealand Football said it would increase security for the rest of the tournament. The fire came less than three days after a shooting in downtown Auckland on the opening day of the tournament, where two construction workers died.
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