Christchurch councillor calls for a ‘super bogan’ weekend to mark opening of new stadium

Thursday, 26 June 2025

AC/DC lead guitarist Angus Young performs at Westpac Stadium in Wellington in 2015. He is the only remaining original member of the band, which city councillor Aaron Keown wants to perform to Christchurch.

“Heavy and intensive” discussions are happening around events that will launch Christchurch’s new $683 million stadium, but the band AC/DC is unlikely to be part of it.

One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha is expected to open in April, just 10 months away, but no opening acts have yet been announced.

Christchurch city councillor Aaron Keown has mooted a “super bogan” weekend, which would involve AC/DC playing in the city the same weekend as the Supercars championship event at Ruapuna on April 17-19.

The stadium is on track to be finished by April 20.

“A super bogan weekend in Christchurch would go off,” Keown said during a council finance and performance meeting on Wednesday.

AC/DC is playing in Adelaide in November, the same weekend the Supercars season finale is being held in the Australian city.

Keown wanted to know if there was any chance Venues Ōtautahi (VŌ) could make something similar happen in Christchurch, but acknowledged it might involve opening the stadium earlier than expected.

The opening date has not yet been confirmed, but the stadium is on track to be completed by April 20, 2026.

VŌ is the Christchurch City Council-owned company that will manage the stadium.

At the meeting, chief executive Caroline Harvie-Teare said opening early was not a question for her, but acknowledged the earlier the better would be good from VŌ’s perspective and the city.

VŌ commercial general manager Danny Schroder said he had been talking to AC/DC’s promoter and while he would not say a number, the cost to get that production to the city was “eye-watering”.

An artist’s impression of the finished One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha in Christchurch.

Harvie-Teare and Schroder did not give away any hints about what acts might be part of the launch events.

“We are in some heavy and intensive discussions around the launch events. We’ll be able to talk more about that in the coming months,” Harvie-Teare said.

Late last year, she said the aim was to get as many Christchurch residents visiting the stadium as possible during its launch events.

VŌ presented its third quarter performance update to the council on Wednesday. The company also manages Wolfbrook Arena, Town Hall, Apollo Projects Stadium, Airforce Museum and Hagley Oval.

During the nine months to March 31, more than 480,000 people attended 304 events at those venues. By the year end, those figures were expected jump to 670,000 people and 406 events. The previous financial year saw about 640,000 people attend 386 events.

Some events held in the four months before March 31 include two Bryan Adams shows at Wolfbrook Arena, four Super Rugby home games at Apollo Projects Stadium, and several sold out shows from visiting comedians including Sarah Millican and Graham Norton at the Town Hall.

The events in the nine months to March 31 contributed $28m to the Canterbury economy. That includes $18.4m of visitor spend and $9.6m spent with local suppliers, contractors and producers of food and drinks.

Some 78% of the food served at the venues was sourced from Canterbury and 69% were local suppliers and contractors.

VŌ also managed to post a profit from its activities for the first three quarters of the year.

Its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) was $488,000. It had budgeted to be $1m in the red by this point.

Harvie-Teare said operating income was higher due to more events, and the positive impact of forming a new ticketing partnership with Ticketmaster.

However, it was also dealing with increased costs for food, including beef and butter, which had both risen by 30%.