Christchurch’s new multi-use One NZ stadium is set to open on strong financial footing, with Venues Ōtautahi confirming it will operate at a surplus without requiring ongoing operational support from ratepayers.
Chief Executive Caroline Harvie-Teare said the organisation’s three-year plan showed the stadium would cover its own costs while also supporting the wider venues portfolio.
“There’s no operational support needed for the stadium from council. It actually is at an operating surplus and at a level sufficient enough to offset all of the operational funding required for the whole venue portfolio,” she said.
“It’s massive. We’re really, really happy, like we’ve been working a long time to get to this point. On its own, the stadium stacks up operationally. So it also means that we can self-fund incentive, you know, the attraction of major events to the stadium over the coming three years as well.”
Harvie-Teare said there were no forecasts for capital investment from council until about seven years in.
“Operationally, again, we’re looking well beyond that three years that we won’t need operational support from the council,” she said.
The financial outlook coincides with confirmation of the first major event at the venue, the Super Rugby Super Round over Anzac weekend. Harvie-Teare said it was a symbolic way to mark the opening.
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“It’s so exciting to have that first event announced. Any event that opened that gorgeous new venue for our city was going to be significant, but the fact that it’s a celebration of rugby, which is at the heart of our culture, makes it even more so. It means so much to so many. The most important thing about opening a venue that is so symbolic of the last phase in our recovery, the last of the anchor projects, is that it was something really accessible to many. And I guess the festival of rugby does exactly that.”
Hospitality demand has also been strong. “We had a really high demand. Obviously we’re just working through all of the contracting, but we can say that the majority of our premium hospitality has been sold, with particular high demand for the suite and the lounge. But we do have some inventory, so the likes of premium reserves and the Field Club, which is a new concept. We’re going to come out with a marketing campaign around those areas in the coming weeks,” she said.
Harvie-Teare said the suites were limited but catered for different scales of business.
“There’s only 23 of them. Those suites include 13 guaranteed events, as well as all your food and beverage, and they range from a 20 size to up to a 60.
“So some of the numbers you see might be 60 people. There’s a range of opportunity to have a premium hospitality experience. The Field Club is a far more affordable level, which is a really cool concept, down the det ball end, looking back straight up the field, a bit more relaxed, whereas your suites and your lounge are a bit more formal.”
Recruitment interest has also been high. “That first round of recruitment, we got 950 applicants, and 85 percent of them were from Canterbury, which is awesome. We need to increase our casual pool from about 500 to about 1000 by the time April comes along. That first intake will be about 80, and then we’ll keep a whole lot of that 950 in for a talent pool. We will market again, but we just want to make sure everyone gets the right training, the right induction, so when we do get to April, everyone’s ready to hit the ground running.”
Harvie-Teare said discussions with promoters were already well underway.
“Everyone’s been excited just as much as we are about this venue opening, and there’s high demand. We’ve got a long-term strategic partnership with the likes of Live Nation, but we also have a very strong partnership with the likes of Frontier. So good amounts of content, good commercial discussions, but now we’ve got some dates we can start actually phasing in that entertainment content and get those announcements out there. We can stop packing our bags and going to Dunedin or Auckland for these major events.”
Her focus is on ensuring the first year delivers for all audiences. “What we want to do in that first 12 months is make sure that the events and the entertainment content that we attract means there’s something for everyone. And it showcases the diversity of that awesome venue. That’s our main goal, and to make sure that we’re getting those New Zealand exclusives that mean everyone comes to us, we don’t go anywhere else.”
On a personal level, Harvie-Teare said the stadium opening would be deeply meaningful. “I’ve grown up in Dunsandel and I’ve lived in Christchurch pretty much my whole life. I’ve been through the journey that we’ve all been through around seeing our city fall and our city come back to the glory that it is today. This really means a huge amount to me as a Christchurch person. I feel beyond privileged to have this opportunity to play a part in bringing this to life. It will be an emotional day. I feel quite privileged and very, very lucky. And yeah, for our whole city, really.”
