City wants world-class acts for new stadium

Wednesday, 16 August 2023

Christchurch is being pitched as one of Australasia’s premier entertainment destinations as it begins chasing events for its new $683 million stadium Te Kaha.

A name change is also in the wind before the stadium’s April 2026 opening.

With construction of the stadium now above ground, the city council-owned venues management company Venues Ōtautahi has started seeking bookings.

Chief executive Caroline Harvie-Teare said Te Kaha has a competitive edge over other destinations.

An artist’s impressions of a concert at Te Kaha, which might be renamed if corporate sponsorship is found.

The stadium will hold 30,000 people for sports events, 36,000 for concerts, and 13,500 for arena-style events, where a divider creates a more intimate space.

“It will be unique for a while. It’ll be the newest stadium that New Zealand or Australasia has, so we are confident we can attract something really major,” she said.

“Having the roof takes away all that worry about the weather.”

Caroline Harvie-Teare, of Venues Otautahi, says the new stadium will have a very competitive edge.

Harvie-Teare said rather than risk a wash-out like Elton John’s Auckland concerts in January, a promoter could choose to stage two or three concerts under cover at Te Kaha. Ed Sheeran’s three under-cover Dunedin concerts in 2018 drew fans from around the country.

“That puts us in a really competitive position, Christchurch will be able to attract those big artists.“

Harvie-Teare said they have already “pencilled in” some bookings for business events.

The stadium’s design includes a function room for up to 750 people, 23 hospitality suites or meeting rooms, and 88 corporate boxes.

How a rugby match at Te Kaha might look. The stadium will have 30,000 seats for sports events, and room for 36,000 at a concert.

An upcoming roadshow will make contact with international entertainment promoters during the next concert season, which runs from September to March.

“We are really hoping for a major entertainment event early on, that would be ideal.

“For those big tours, the planning starts about two years out. So our timing will be about right.”

Concert promoter Phil Sprey, pictured in 2016 with British rocker Ozzy Osbourne.

They are seeking “world-class acts”, and details of early bookings would be made public next year, Harvie-Teare said.

She said they expect Te Kaha to host 200 events a year, of which 180 are likely to be business bookings.

Phil Sprey, who recently retired after 30 years as a concert promoter bringing in acts such as Elton John, Ozzy Osbourne and Bon Jovi, said Te Kaha would be a “premium venue” and put Christchurch on the entertainment map.

Sprey said there was no reason the city would not be able to attract the world’s top acts like Taylor Swift, Lizzo, Ed Sheeran or Pink.

Taylor Swift performs at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, in May. The American singer-songwriter is the sort of act Christchurch would like to attract.

Christchurch would take acts off Dunedin and Wellington, and sit alongside Auckland as a sought-after tour destination as part of an Australasian package deal for promoters, he said.

“Christchurch will benefit greatly,” he said.

“Promoters tend to be lazy. They will take in Auckland and one other location, it’s about the time and the economics of it.”

Te Kaha’s alternative arena capability would make it ideal for performers who prefer a smaller space, he said, and it would have the advantage over Auckland of suiting out-of-season acts.

Te Pae general manager Ross Steele says the two venues will be complementary.

“If you have a roof, you are winning.”

Sprey said concert-friendly features such as roof trusses to hang equipment, big loading doors and changing rooms, all of which which Te Kaha will have, would help make it “a far bigger attraction” for promoters.

Christchurch’s hotel capacity and long airport runway for flying in stage sets will also be a plus for promoters, he said.

Ross Steele, general manager of Christchurch’s convention centre Te Pae, said in some cases Te Kaha and Te Pae would compete for bookings, but mostly they would be complementary.

Work progresses on construction of Te Kaha stadium in central Christchurch.

Big events often used several locations around the city and organisers liked plenty of choices, he said.

Steele said Te Pae had to turn down 140 bookings this year - a mix of conferences, single day events, meetings and banquets - because it was too busy.

“We’ve hosted 81 multi-day conferences, of three or four or five days each, in a year.

“We always need other venues to recommend if we can’t take a booking, whether it’s a hotel, the (Wigram) Air Force Museum, or the Town Hall.

“Te Kaha will be great for the city. It will give Christchurch more options when it comes to bringing events here, and show we are really on an international scale.

“Big events bring a real sense of excitement to the city, and have huge economic benefit.”

Steele said while Christchurch hotels could cater for an influx of visitors, more hotels would be needed before Te Kaha opened to make room for simultaneous events.

Venues Ōtautahi has also launched a tender for ticketing for Te Kaha, and will soon put the naming rights up for sale.

The name Te Kaha, short for Te Kaharoa, was gifted to the stadium and the precinct around it by local runanga Ngāi Tūāhuriri last year. It was confirmed then that the name would later be either combined with a commercial sponsor or replaced.

Harvie-Teare said while they preferred to keep Te Kaha, there was room for a corporate sponsor’s name, for the entire stadium or part of it.