Invercargill's ILT Stadium Southland is in the running for two national awards, with the venue shortlisted for Medium Venue of the Year and its general manager, Jo Hutton, shortlisted in the Team Leader of the Year category.

The awards are run by the Entertainment Venues Association of New Zealand (EVANZ), the industry body for the country's stadiums, arenas, theatres and convention centres. Winners will be announced at a ceremony in Christchurch on 2 December, the Otago Daily Times reported on Thursday.

Hutton said the two nominations reflected the effort her team put into bringing sport, entertainment and community events to Southland, and credited the way staff looked after the building along with the backing the stadium receives from the wider community. The venue's ability to switch between very different kinds of events was, she said, its greatest asset.

She told the paper the team was "so proud" of what the venue delivered for the community every day.

Karen Poff, who chairs Stadium Southland Limited, said Hutton's selection was thoroughly deserved and pointed to her energy and her commitment to both staff and the community.

The stadium on Surrey Park Road is the home of the Southern Steel netball side and the Southland Sharks basketball team, and hosts everything from school sports days and trade shows to touring concerts. It marked 25 years since opening last year, a milestone made more notable by its history: the original building's roof collapsed under heavy snow in September 2010 and the venue was rebuilt and reopened in 2014.

It has had a busy few weeks. The Herald reported last month that the stadium's Surrey Park precinct will host the South Island Masters Games and the Colgate Games athletics meet, and on Wednesday night it hosted a $80-a-team quiz night raising funds for Hawthorndale Care Village and the Grace Street Project.

The EVANZ awards recognise venues in small, medium and large categories as well as individual operators and teams. A win in the medium venue category would put the Invercargill facility ahead of comparable venues across the country.

The stadium takes its name from naming-rights sponsor the Invercargill Licensing Trust, which also announced this week that 65 Southland students had received its 2026 tertiary scholarships.