The Crusaders will kick-off their quest for a fourth-straight Super Rugby title at Nelson's Trafalgar Park.
The February 1 fixture was confirmed by SANZAAR, which has announced its full schedule for the Super Rugby 2020, which marks the 25th anniversary of the tournament.
It's also confirmed that all evening kick-off times for New Zealand will now take place at the earlier time of 7:05pm, rather than the standard 7:35pm, while 5:15pm starts have been moved back to 4:45pm.
World Rugby's international test match window is now in July, which allows Super Rugby to be played uninterrupted across the 21-week tournament timeframe (including the three-week finals series).
The season-opener will mark the Christchurch-based franchise's return to Nelson for the first time since 2015. They'll also take on the Jaguares in a 2019 final replay on April 24, after making their first trip to Tokyo to face the Sunwolves on March 14.
Meanwhile, the Blues will host the Chiefs in the competition-opener on Friday January 31, before they tackle a tough schedule of four away games in five games that includes a two-game jaunt to South Africa.
The Blues will also play the Jaguares in Whangarei in Round 11, set for April 18.
The Hurricanes will begin their season in South Africa against the Stormers then travel to Buenos Aires to take on the Jaguares.
They face one particularly tough stretch with three NZ derby games in a four-week period, hosting the Highlanders, Chiefs and Crusaders between April 17 and May 8, with their second bye of the season in between.
The Highlanders have drawn a bye in the opening round and will play their first game at home against the Sharks the following week. All of their home games will be played at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
Read the full schedule here.
Newshub.
