Wellington is languishing behind other regions and needs a large multi-purpose arena for gigs, a prominent concert promoter in the capital says.
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A report commissioned for the region's economic development agency, WellingtonNZ, looked at the buildings it manages, including the Michael Fowler Centre and TSB Arena, and the need to "future-proof" them.
It might be the country's film capital - but Wellington falls short when it comes to entertainment.
The report said that while various venues serviced the entertainment industry well, some lacked modern technology and equipment.
Size was also a problem, as was the lack of bums on seats and a skew to an older audience.
It put the old Opera House and Shed 6 on the chopping block - saying they should be redeveloped, repurposed or sold.
WellingtonNZ events and experiences general manager Warrick Dent believed that with the right redevelopment and focus, all buildings could stay.
"We believe that the venues have a really good future and a very valuable future for the city and we see our venues as being key economic enablers," he said/
Wellington-based concert promoter and owner of Capital C Concerts Phil Sprey has been in the sector decades and said the city needed to think big and get an arena.
"We don't have any facilities in Wellington to cater for audiences of 10,000-15,000 indoors in a multi-purpose venue which could hold anything from exhibitions to concerts to sporting events," he said.
He said the capital was missing a blindingly obvious opportunity.
Concert goer Alex reckoned Wellington was a good city that deserves a big space.
"It would be nice to have some places where we don't necessarily have to have the noise control in them and have the bigger concerts and the bigger acts to enjoy Wellington," he said.
But Warrick Dent doesn't think it will happen.
"In the current environment coming out of Covid - any investment that the city was looking to make into an indoor arena would have been dependent on private equity as well - and an arrangement with commercial partners - and we don't think in the current environment that's probably feasible in the medium term," he said.
The report is in the hands of council officials, and WellingtonNZ will work with them on whether the recommendations will become a reality.
