Bay of Plenty in 2011 Business & Economic Research Limited (BERL) identified the Bay of Plenty as one of the top performing regions in economic development, ranking second behind Auckland. It had the highest employment and GDP growth for 2011 and had the fastest growing medium term GDP. Tauranga, the region's largest commercial centre, was named New Zealand's top city for economic performance for the 2011 year. 67.1% of the resident population in the Bay of Plenty identified with the European ethnic group, while 27.5% of people identified themselves as Māori. This compared with 67.6% of the national population identifying themselves as ethnic
Bay of Plenty rugby league team Alex Chan. The Stags drew players from both the Bay of Plenty Rugby League and the Coastlines Rugby League competitions. Between 2004 and 2008 they were represented by the Waicoa Bay Stallions in the Bartercard Cup. The Stallions represented the Waikato Rugby League and Coastlines Rugby League as well as the Bay of Plenty Rugby League. In 2008 and 2009 the Bay of Plenty provincial side competed in the National Provincial Competition. Former Kiwis coach Graham Lowe was the coach of the side for 2008. In 2009 they did not win a game and finished sixth. Bay of Plenty rugby