A $100m plan to lure top rock acts

[Adamnz]

A $100m plan to lure top rock acts
By DAVE BURGESS - The Dominion Post | Saturday, 22 November 2008

Money-spinning rock concerts could be lured to Wellington by a proposed arena above the Westpac Stadium concourse that could cost about $100 million.

A review of the city's event venues commissioned by Wellington City Council said the capital had missed out on millions of dollars in revenue because it lacked a mid-sized indoor concert venue.

The 5000-capacity TSB Bank Arena is the biggest indoor venue in Wellington. But major international acts, such as Stevie Wonder and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, have given it a wide berth in favour of Auckland's 12,000-seater Vector Arena.

Concert promoter Phil Sprey said Wellington had missed out on visits by rock superstars for years. "The main reason is we don't have an inside venue of about 10,000 capacity."

The viability of concerts was about economy of scale, he said. "When artists perform, they perform for a fee and that does not automatically get scaled to the size of the venue."

As an example, he said he brought Elton John to the Vector Arena this year but it would not have been viable for him to play at Wellington's TSB Bank Arena. "Tickets would have cost about $600 a seat, which is just ridiculous."

A mid-sized arena in Wellington would create a "natural circuit" with the 8500-capacity Westpac Arena in Christchurch, and the Vector Arena in Auckland. "That would appeal to big acts coming to New Zealand."

Wellington Mayor Kerry Prendergast said a 10,000-seat arena would be a regional facility and could therefore attract funding from other councils in the area, as well as from Greater Wellington regional council.

"Wellington, and the region, is missing out on events. This means we are losing the opportunity to gain significant economic impact."

She believed an arena would ideally be built above the stadium concourse, or on nearby waterfront land.

It could come under the management of Westpac Stadium.

A second report would be commissioned to look in detail at the cost, viability and possible sites for a 10,000-seat arena.

A concert arena of that size was expected to cost about $100 million.

The worsening economy has meant the council has looked to cut or defer some of its planned projects as a way to keep future rates increases to the level of inflation.

But Ms Prendergast said she supported further planning work being done on the arena because there would be "a clear economic return to the region, and the city".

The rock venue is a separate proposal to the $50 million indoor community sports centre in Kilbirnie, which has been agreed to by the council.

Submissions on the sports centre closed last month and an independent commissioner will now consider the evidence at a hearing before deciding whether to approve or decline the proposal.

[KLK]

Great thinking from Wellngton, again.

Hopefully the design will be unique. I'll wait to see renders about how it would fit in with the stadium concourse, but a seperate structure on waterfront land nearby sounds better.

More importantly, I wonder whether it would spell the end of the hideous facility at Queens Wharf which remains an eyesore on what is fast developing as a very pleasant waterfront. Would be good to see that bowled or at the very least, remodelled.

[erentz]

Does this mean they'd pull down that frightful mistake of an events centre at Queens Wharf?

Edit: Agree with KLK, a separate structure would be nicer. Also, would prefer to see a proper plan considered for how it fits in with the wider Pipitea/Railyards area when that is redeveloped in the future. Already the Stadium is in an inconvenient place for that, be good to make something like this fit into such a redevelopment better.

[Davee]

Sounds a good idea. Just what Wellington needs and as said, it will just go further to making the waterfront a really attractive place to be.

[QinBriz]

Fantastic idea. This should bring more acts to the city. I think incorporating the facility into the concourse by the Cake tin would be a better use of space. Would keep the building next to the PT nodes. Either way I hope it does get built as the kind of acts I have ben enjoying in Auckland would do very well in Wellington.

As for the Events centre, Probably see it kept for conventions and indoor sport. Would make a great Futsal Stadium! What ever happens it should get remodeled as it is a shocker!

[deepred]

A definite no-brainer. If it does get built, then TSB Arena could be the new home for Welly Indoor Sports.

[nthbeach]

wellington needs it, thats pretty straight-forward i thought, chch did it about 10 years ago now. But built on the stadium concourse, is she serious? she gets 0 points for stating the obvious that wellington needs an indoor arena and -5 for suggesting on top of the concourse, i think my idea of gutting the beehive and using that is just as good an idea. The politicans can use the beaurecreats office space and they can move on.

[harbour to heathrow]

Great idea, but getting the location right is the tricky part.

The stadium concourse was built to take additional structure. It would all depend on the layout - an event venue has very specific requirements for acoustics, sightlines, people management and service access that would define its shape, so the question is does it work super-imposed on top of the concourse?

I don't agree with a site on the waterfront - it would be repeating the mistakes of the events centre. Event venues are 'black boxes' - inward-looking buildings that are only occupied 10% of the time and contribute nothing to their urban context. All you can do is tack on some retail to the outside (like they have done to one end of the Events Centre), which still leaves three inhospitable sides! And it would be a huge building, creating an impermeable lump that people would have to walk around.

Welly's needed this for a while, lets hope it becomes reality!

[KLK]

I don't agree with a site on the waterfront - it would be repeating the mistakes of the events centre. Event venues are 'black boxes' - inward-looking buildings that are only occupied 10% of the time and contribute nothing to their urban context.

I know what you are saying, but it doesn't have to be a "box design" and it can contribute to the urban context. Sydney Opera House anyone?? The structure could actually be the destination for the times it isn't being used. Even with limited use, I'd prefer something innovative for use 10% of the time than something like Meridian (as good a design at it is) which is just a glorified office block used 80% of the time...

But OK, perhaps the waterfront edge needs to be saved for something else. In that case, this could be a good opportunity to clean up some of the land around the stadium which current unused railyard land (or appears to be unused), thereby allowing seamless links to PT.

[deepred]

I've just looked up Google Maps, and compared the surface area of Vector Arena (http://maps.google.co.nz/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=vector+arena&sll=-41.244772,172.617188&sspn=34.357424,89.033203&ie=UTF8&ll=-36.847388,174.777009&spn=0.004482,0.010868&t=h&z=17&iwloc=A) against the available space on the Westpac Stadium concourse (http://maps.google.co.nz/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=westpac+stadium&sll=-41.244772,172.617188&sspn=34.357424,89.033203&ie=UTF8&ll=-41.274751,174.78511&spn=0.004209,0.010868&t=h&z=17).

There's theoretically ample space on the Concourse for a Vector Arena-sized indoor stadium, and it would also be a more efficient use of space than a greenfields location on Waterfront land. The only potential issue is structural integrity, which can't be too hard to address.

PS. Has anyone found a way to embed Google Maps into SSC posts?

[KLK]

I did wonder just what "above the Stadium concourse" meant...... Sitting on it? hovering above it? Along side and towering over it?

How would this work for crowds bypassing the facility on their way to the Stadium?

[deepred]

I did wonder just what "above the Stadium concourse" meant...... Sitting on it? hovering above it? Along side and towering over it?

How would this work for crowds bypassing the facility on their way to the Stadium?
Most likely right above that wide area at the stadium end. I'd say a good supply of reinforced rods should elevate it above the concourse quite nicely.

[erentz]

Problem I have with above the concourse, is it would make it quite a large unsightly building. The concourse isn't exactly pretty itself.

And what about a future with no concourse? When the railyards and port area is redeveloped and we want connectivity between Thorndon Quay and Waterloo Quay? Perhaps the old proposals to partially bury the railway and build over it connecting both sides gets implemented, etc. Building on the concourse makes it impossible to remove it, and kind of prohibits any of these future options.

[kegan]

Article from the DomPost:


Mixed reaction to arena proposal
DAVE BURGESS - The Dominion Post (http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominionpost/4772626a23918.html) | Wednesday, 26 November 2008

A $100 million rock arena proposed for Wellington has had a mixed reception from regional leaders.

The proposal was put forward last week after a Wellington City Council-commissioned review found the city lacked a mid-sized venue specially for rock concerts.

Potential sites are to be identified in a second report, but Wellington Mayor Kerry Prendergast said it could be built above the Westpac Stadium concourse, or on nearby waterfront land.

The 10,000-seat arena would be for the benefit of the wider region and all ratepayers could be asked to make a financial contribution. It could cost as much as $100 million.

Porirua Mayor Jenny Brash said she knew nothing about the arena proposal, and her council was already under pressure to fund basic infrastructure. "We haven't got a lot of capacity to fund anything else."

She said the situation was complicated by the new Te Rauparaha Arena, with its 3000-seat main stadium, which opened last week in Porirua. One third of the $17.5million arena would be funded through Porirua rates.

Lower Hutt Mayor David Ogden said his council did not fund big Wellington-based events and projects such as the International Festival of the Arts and the Karori Sanctuary.

"But if it could be proven that it [a rock arena] is a truly regional facility like the Westpac Stadium, then I think a case could be made for it to be funded through the region."

Mr Ogden said the arena could be funded through Greater Wellington regional council by a special rate.

The regional council already collects rates from all ratepayers in the region to pay for the Westpac Stadium.

Upper Hutt Mayor Wayne Guppy said there was a clear need for a rock arena in the region.

"Anyone who lives in Wellington can clearly see that we are losing out very, very badly to Auckland now that they have the large [12,000-seat] Vector Arena. There is no question about that."

The Vector Arena has attracted some of the biggest international rock acts, including the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Kings of Leon, since it opened in March last year. Kylie Minogue will perform there next month.

Mr Guppy said a cooperative approach was needed to find the most suitable place for an arena.

"If it is to be a regional approach, then where is the best place to site it? It might be the city, but it also might be Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt or Porirua."

Concert promoter Phil Sprey said the arena should be built on port land currently used to store logs, to the north of Westpac Stadium.

"You could bridge across to the stadium so it would become an annex to that facility."

He said the area above the Westpac Stadium concourse would probably be too small for a 10,000-seat concert venue and, if it was built there, mass congestion could ensue if concerts and sporting events were held at the same time.

Trains passing nearby could also pose noise problems during acoustic shows, he said.

Trains passing nearby could also pose noise problems during acoustic shows I wonder about that - does the Vector Arena in AKL have this problem? It's right next to the railway.

"If it is to be a regional approach, then where is the best place to site it? It might be the city, but it also might be Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt or Porirua." It should be in the city if you expect people to use public transport. Ever tried using PT to go from Porirua to the Hutt or vice versa? Hardly direct or convienent, whereas both have reasonable connections to Wellington.

[QinBriz]

The Issue of the train noise will be a valid one, fine for sporting events but not so good musical events!

[kegan]

^^ If that problem can be solved for the Vector Arena, it can be solved here too.

[QinBriz]

true, most things like this have an engineering solution. Would be a bit different because the rail goes around Vector, but would potentially go under the new wellington arena.

[QinBriz]

I have been thinking about this one a bit more. I love concerts and would enjoy a new Wellington Venue. But going up to 10,000 seats from 6,000 seated/GAand at Queens Wharf (TSB)? I am starting to wonder how many times this would be needed. Dont know the stats but it would be good to see how many of the concerts currently being held sell out and add to that the few concerts that miss Wellington because the venue is to small, but are not big enough to play outdoors. Personally I would like it but potentially this is one the politicians may back out of.

100million+ is a lot of money that would go a long way towards some other significant buildings or infrastructure.

[KLK]

Its a good point to consider.

As a comparison, it would be interesting to look at the events that have been on offer up to date at Vector, in comparison to what was on offer in other indoor venues prior to its completion. I suspect there is a world of difference.

From my limited knowledge of Auckland venues, I know Trusts Stadium out west holds about 5000, the North Shore Events Centre about the same . Is there an indoor concert venue somewhere else in Auckland that holds more than 5k?

If thats it, then I think its fair to say that - judging by the articles released everytime a new act is playing at the Vector - the decision to build a 10,000-12,000 seat venue in competition with existing venues half that size has been an unqualified success.

And thats close to what Wellington is looking at - in this case an increase from 6,000 to 10,000.

[KLK]

While we are all excited....

Is this what we have been waiting for in regards to an "iconic" building on the T-wharf? The site of the failed Hilton Hotel proposal?

Sure, its not big enough as it is, but perhaps the architects and engineers can think outside the square (or in this case, the "T").

Something hovering out over the water perhaps? The reckoned they could do it with a stadium on stilts straddling Auckland's Bledisloe wharf - why not something smaller here?

[QinBriz]

If it was on the wharf I would hope there would be plenty of other uses for the venue besides an indoor venue.

[60 MPa]

Too right - the log storage area would be a better spot but I gather it is prone to settlement?
That's what the big pile of dirt previously outside St John's bar was there for - to preload the land so as to minimise settlement when a building went onto it later.

They do say that if you build out over water your costs go up and not in a mild way..

[piles]

Is there an indoor concert venue somewhere else in Auckland that holds more than 5k? The only other one in Auckland is the Mt Smart Supertop, which I believe holds about 10,000. Now that the Vector Arena is here this embarrasement of a venue is no pretty much redundant, with the exception of Big Day Out. International acts must have arrived and thought "We're playing in a Circus tent?":nuts:

But I'd say a better comparision for Wellington would be the Westpac Arena in Christchurch due to the similar population.

[deepred]

Thought for the day: if the indoor arena is indeed built next to Westpac Stadium on the concourse, would it be called the 'Cupcake Tin"? :)