[7] The stadium was opened by New Zealand Prime Minister John Key on 5 August 2011, replacing Carisbrook as the home stadium of the Highlanders team in Super Rugby and the Otago Rugby Football Union team in the domestic Mitre 10 Cup.

The stadium's construction required the shifting of New Zealand State Highway 88, the main road between the CBD to the West Harbour Suburbs and the port facilities, which prior to stadium construction followed Anzac Avenue as part of its route, turning northeast at Logan Park before following the harbour's edge past Ravensbourne.

The highway was diverted onto a new stretch of road alongside the railway line, 200 metres east of Anzac Avenue.

During construction, 609 piles were driven to support stadium structure, and 1840m3 concrete poured in North and South stand seating areas.

[12] A November 2008 survey organised by Stop the Stadium showed 73.3% of respondents did not support public funding.

[9][16][17] Originally the total cost of the stadium including land purchases was projected to be NZ$198.3 million.

The first Super Rugby match played at the stadium, on 3 March 2012, resulted in a narrow win for the Highlanders over local derby rivals the Crusaders.

The stadium also became the new home of the Otago Rugby Football Union team in the domestic ITM Cup, since renamed Bunnings NPC.

The stadium hosted four matches of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, three of them featuring England, with the first being played on 10 September 2011 against Argentina[21][circular reference].

The All Blacks played their inaugural test at Forsyth Barr Stadium against South Africa on 15 September 2012, the home side winning 21–11.

The stadium's inaugural game was a pre-season football match between the Wellington Phoenix and Brisbane Roar on 20 August 2011, with an attendance of over 15,000 (half of capacity).

[23][24] The stadium has also hosted the local ASB Premiership football team Otago United for some of their home matches in the 2011–12 season.

[28] The stadium has hosted one New Zealand rugby league international, against England in week 3 of the 2014 Four Nations on 8 November 2014.

[29][30] The stadium has hosted musical performances by international artists starting with Elton John in November 2011.

Other notable acts to have performed at the stadium include Macklemore (2013), Aerosmith (2013),[31] Paul Simon (2013), Tinie Tempah (2014), Rod Stewart (2015), Neil Diamond (2015), Fleetwood Mac (2015), Black Sabbath (2016), Stevie Nicks (2017), Roger Waters (2018), Robbie Williams (2018), and Ed Sheeran (2018).

Live music returned to the venue after the pandemic with shows from Red Hot Chili Peppers supported by Post Malone, Rod Stewart and Cyndi Lauper in 2023.