How the home of tennis is becoming a live music and entertainment location
Saturday, 18 January 2025
Manuka Doctor Arena in Auckland will turn into a music venue over Auckland Anniversary weekend.
Known for hosting tennis, the venue wants to diversify and host music and other live events all year round.
Tennis Auckland is also planning on building a roof at the arena in the hope it can be ready in 2027.
It has hosted some of the biggest names in tennis over the decades and now the home of tennis in Auckland is looking to a new future where entertainment and live music can adorn centre court and draw some of music’s biggest names down under.
Manuka Doctor Arena is gearing up to host Centre Court Sounds, a live music event on January 25, in what is being viewed as the first test of the venue’s capabilities to host music and other non-tennis events moving forward.
With headliners, electronic group Leisure, and also featuring Club Sachi, Daily J, and Bon Tempo, the arena will be turned into a music venue, featuring a 360 degree stage on centre court and private suites in the corporate boxes.
The event’s promoter Nick Randell told Stuff that Centre Court Sounds is a prototype to test the possibilities of what Manuka Doctor Arena could be used for when there’s no scheduled tennis.
“Year one for us is it's a music event and Centre Court Sounds is going to be an annual premium music concept. But then in 2026, we're looking to do boxing and other things there,” he said.
“They normally pack this arena up and it goes into nothing again. Over Auckland Anniversary weekend we are bringing in two-and-a-half thousand people, and keeping the life and soul of that venue for another couple of weeks.”
Randell said that having the stage in the middle of centre court will allow for the audience to be within touching distance of the performers on all sides of the stage, something he said you cannot get at other venues, or at outdoor music festivals.
He added that, like the tennis, they will also utilise the corporate boxes, turning them into private suites, complete with table service.
“I know all these other promoters do VIP tents and stuff, but this is so much bigger than that. Essentially we're swapping tennis for live music with the same setup.”
Randell said the aim is to showcase the arena to a new type of audience and give music fans something that is uniquely different to what is offered elsewhere.
“It is a 10-by-10-metre, 360 degree stage, with a big roof structure and world class production, and it essentially gets craned into this venue. It takes three or four days to set this thing up,” Randell said.
Randell has the backing of Tennis Auckland, who have partnered with him and Next Gen health and lifestyle club to host the event for at least two years.
This forms part of a wider vision for Tennis Auckland, who want to see the venue used more outside of tennis, and includes their plan to have a $15 million roof built over the venue.
The idea is that once a roof is on the arena it will allow the venue to be used for more non-tennis events, including gigs.
Resource consent was secured for a roof in September 2024, with plans to start work on it in 2026 for a 2027 launch.
Chief Executive of Tennis Auckland Rohan West told Stuff their aim with the arena is to hit what they see as a gap in the market between Spark Arena and The Powerstation in terms of venue capacity.
“It really hits a sweet spot between The Powerstation and The Civic, and then the next jump up is Spark. In terms of the CBD there is a gap in the market for that one to four thousand capacity, with a covering,” West said.
At the moment, the arena can hold around 3000 people for tennis events, but depending on the configuration for concerts, West reckons they can increase this to 4000 people.
“It has always been part of the wider plan to have the venue become much more attractive for third party events, sports, concerts, community events, basically anything that could benefit from having a covered one to four thousand capacity arena in the central business district.”
West said they have done a preliminary budget to host about 10 events per year, and already have had positive discussions with promoters who are keen to learn more.
As for funding for a new roof, West said discussions with both Auckland Council and central government have stepped up in recent weeks.
“There is great deal of interest and support at both central and local government. We just need to find the appropriate funding sources,” West said.
A spokesperson for Auckland Council told Stuff there is no current funding agreement between the council and Auckland Tennis.
They said that Auckland Tennis have in the past applied to the council’s Sport and Recreation Facilities Investment Fund, however, adding that high performance facilities are not a high priority for that fund.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment said Tennis Auckland has been given government money in the past to help support them attract, retain and grow major events, something that included the construction of a retractable roof.
MBIE’s Major Events Fund Manager Kylie Hawker Green told Stuff that the government gave Tennis Auckland up to $3m in 2016, however, they are not currently receiving any new support.
How Auckland’s stadiums and venues are used has been a topic of constant debate for many years in the city.
In February, Auckland Council is set to hear back on two feasibility studies, one on refurbishing Eden Park, which can now host 12 concerts a year, and a second around building a new stadium in the CBD.
There are also plans to build a new football stadium to host Auckland FC games at Western Springs Stadium, while the St James Theatre is awaiting sign off from Council so its long-awaited refurbishment can begin.