The park has recently had a $16m redevelopment with the new grandstand known as the Northland Events Centre being built.

The new development has turned Okara Park into a multi-purpose Northland sports hub.

The stadium has held national games, including the New Zealand Māori rugby league team beating the Great Britain Lions 40–28 in 1996 and the New Zealand Māori rugby union team beating the Tongan national side 66–7 at Okara Park in 1998.

It has also hosted matches between Northland and touring international sides such as the British & Irish Lions, and Tonga, Samoa and Fiji in the last two decades.

On 3 June 2017, the 2017 British & Irish Lions began their tour here with a 13–7 win against New Zealand Barbarians.