Chris Bishop said current restrictions on Eden Park are costing hundreds of millions in lost revenue. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
A neighbour of Eden Park is "loving" the possibility of restrictions being loosened at the stadium to allow for more concerts and events.
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has written to Auckland Council with an eye on loosening restrictions on Eden Park's operations which he says are costing hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue.
In September, Bishop commissioned the consultancy Incite to investigate local planning rules at Eden Park, which limit the stadium to just 12 concerts a year.
The report, published on Wednesday, recommended allowing another 20 concerts every year on top of that for between 10,000 and 30,000 attendees.
It warned if changes weren't made the region could lose more than $430 million in lost income and 750 jobs over the next decade.
The government is now seeking feedback from the public and council on the findings, but it's clear Bishop is in favour of change - and he has the power to act through changes to resource management laws earlier this year.
Speaking to Checkpoint, Jose Fowler said he lived so close to Eden Park that he could throw a tennis ball into it.
He was in favour of more concerts at the park, saying it needed to be an events stadium run without restrictions to generate money and not be a "burden" on the ratepayer.
More often than not, the event's traffic management plan ran smoothly and most of the people he saw attending events were families with young kids just having a great time.
Fowler said he had spoken to the majority of his neighbours who were also in support of more events at Eden Park.
He said an increase in concerts at the venue would see better artists come to New Zealand and more money spent on local hospitality businesses and Air BnB's.
Not only did people travel from around New Zealand to attend events at Eden Park and spend money in local businesses, but people travelled from Australia as well, he said.
Fowler said he would be putting forward a submission in favour of the changes.
In a statement, Bishop said he hoped to make further announcements before the end of the year.
He said the existing restrictions were "stifling Eden Park's ability to drive economic growth and create jobs".
"These rules were originally put in place in an attempt to balance use of Eden Park as a venue with the local community's preferences around noise and traffic levels," he said.
"However it's important to ensure the rules remain fit for purpose and do not unnecessarily hold back Auckland's event and tourism sectors."
Bishop said big concerts delivered big economic benefits, citing a $34m benefit to the local economy from 14 Auckland shows over the past three years.
"Tourism is already our second-largest export earner and contributes $17 billion to GDP as well as providing nearly 200,000 jobs. We want to see the sector continue to grow.
"The conferences and convention sector is also growing. Last year it grew 10 percent and delivered over $280 million to the New Zealand economy, creating jobs and opportunities for New Zealanders."
The report's recommendations include:
- Enabling a broader range of uses such as markets, fairs, trade fairs, cultural, and community events
- Permitting 12 large concerts (30,000+ people) and 20 medium concerts (10,000-30,000) each calendar year
- More flexibility on timing for concerts, including permitting concerts of up to eight hours duration
- More flexibility for sports games
- Three levels of noise standards with different noise limits for everyday activities, sports games, and concerts
- Removal of size limits for conferences and large functions
Eden Park chief executive Nick Saunter told Nine to Noon he welcomed the proposed changes, and said the stadium had the support of 90 percent of local residents.
"We engage with them, they attend events ... we are a great resident and a great community asset," he said.
"There is a need for greater utilisation. Events drive escapism, but also economic benefit for our great city.
"Over the last month we've seen such a diversity of content, from international League international cricket, we're going into Metallica. But that still doesn't mean that we don't have idle capacity."
There was no downside to the announcement, he said.
"There's no guarantee that we'll be able to be able to secure that volume of concerts. What it does enable is for us to have the conversations. And we know that artists like Coldplay, Pink Billy Joel all wanted to play at Eden Park. Phil Collins, sadly was unable to play at Eden Park because of constraints we operated under."
Auckland deputy mayor Desley Simpson told Nine to Noon the proposed changes had her support, and that investment in Auckland was good for the whole country.
"We know that actually we have the venues to run big events, we know we have the population to support those events, and we know events drive visitors to our city.
The public transport system would be well-equipped to deal with demand due to the proposed increase in stadium events, she said.
"It's got a major train route there, they have great busses that come from all parts of Auckland to support getting people to and from Eden Park. They've worked really hard in the transport space around that.
"If you've got 90 percent support from residents and you've got good pubic transport, it makes sense to utilise that space better," she said.
"Together with government we will be pitching for more big events to come to our city."
However, securing additional events came with additional challenges and costs for the council, she said.
"Bidding for these events takes many years in some cases, it doesn't just happen overnight. It takes a lot of time and it takes a lot of money."
That was one of the reasons that Auckland council had been proposing a bed night levy, she said.
"The last government, the Labour led government didn't give it to us, this government currently hasn't given it to us, but it doesn't mean that we're going to stop lobbying for it.
"We will continue the fight to help promote the bed night levy."
'Events drive escapism'
Eden Park chief executive Nick Saunter told Nine to Noon he welcomed the proposed changes, and said the stadium had the support of 90 percent of local residents.
"We engage with them, they attend events ... we are a great resident and a great community asset," he said.
"There is a need for greater utilisation. Events drive escapism, but also economic benefit for our great city.
"Over the last month we've seen such a diversity of content, from international league, international cricket, we're going into Metallica. But that still doesn't mean that we don't have idle capacity."
The Kiwis celebrate Phoenix Crossland of the Kiwis try, centre, during New Zealand Kiwis v Tonga XIII, round 3 of the Pacific Championships at Eden Park. Photo: Photosport
There was no downside to the announcement, he said.
"There's no guarantee that we'll be able to be able to secure that volume of concerts. What it does enable is for us to have the conversations. And we know that artists like Coldplay, Pink, Billy Joel all wanted to play at Eden Park. Phil Collins, sadly, was unable to play at Eden Park because of constraints we operated under."
Auckland deputy mayor Desley Simpson told Nine to Noon the proposed changes had her support, and that investment in Auckland was good for the whole country.
"We know that actually we have the venues to run big events, we know we have the population to support those events, and we know events drive visitors to our city."
The public transport system would be well-equipped to deal with demand due to the proposed increase in stadium events, she said.
"It's got a major train route there, they have great buses that come from all parts of Auckland to support getting people to and from Eden Park. They've worked really hard in the transport space around that.
"If you've got 90 percent support from residents and you've got good pubic transport, it makes sense to utilise that space better," she said.
"Together with government we will be pitching for more big events to come to our city."
However, securing additional events came with additional challenges and costs for the council, she said.
"Bidding for these events takes many years in some cases, it doesn't just happen overnight. It takes a lot of time and it takes a lot of money."
That was one of the reasons that Auckland council had been proposing a bed night levy, she said.
"The last government, the Labour-led government didn't give it to us, this government currently hasn't given it to us, but it doesn't mean that we're going to stop lobbying for it.
"We will continue the fight to help promote the bed night levy."
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