AusLeisure

Mt Smart Stadium has been identified as New Zealand’s top-ranked stadium for ticket sales during the first half of 2020 according to recently released rankings from global concert industry publication Pollstar.

Listed 15^th on Pollstar’s Top 50 Outdoor Stadiums mid-year rankings, the Auckland venues has risen 10 spots since 2018.

During the course of the year, Mt Smart Stadium hosted several large international acts including Queen + Adam Lambert and Elton John. These two concerts alone, brought in an additional 24,000 visitors from outside of Auckland and an additional $6million in tourism spend to the city. The concert summer season also included the dance festival Listen In and U2’s The Joshua Tree tour.

Chris Brooks, Chief Executive of Regional Facilities Auckland (RFA), which oversees Auckland Stadiums, said it is good to see Mt Smart Stadium on the worldwide charts, even with the impact COVID-19 has had on stadium events.

Brooks advised “to be ranked 15th in the world and beat our previous ranking from 2018 demonstrates the commitment of our Auckland Stadiums team. The team is always striving to make each year better than the last and put Auckland and New Zealand on the music industry map.”

Stating that the result showcases the hard work that goes into maintaining the Auckland asset,

Auckland Stadiums Director, James Parkinson explained “Mt Smart Stadium’s 2019/20 concert summer season was set to be one of our biggest seasons yet. It ended up looking quite different, with the rescheduling of two out of three Elton John shows, yet Mt Smart Stadium still ranked #15 worldwide.

“While large events are a big focus of Mt Smart Stadium, we are now working hard to find new revenue streams while border closures continue to impact events such as the Warriors season and the World Rally Championship, which would have been huge drawcards this year.”

Parkinson noted the large carpark at the stadium, usually swamped with food trucks and entertainment options for patrons, which has been used as shipping container storage since lockdown.

Scott Couch, Head of Commercial Auckland Stadiums, said renting out the car park is “a great option to diversify revenue streams while being able to offer a secure space for freight companies.”

Couch indicated that the Stadium would also be hosting more drive-in movies, following the success of the movie Bohemian Rhapsody event; and the recent Night Flicks outdoor drive-in cinema - the first post-lockdown event.

Couch added “we can’t wait to have people back at Mt Smart Stadium, cheering on the Warriors or singing along to the next big act we can host there. But for now, we need to develop new and versatile ways to keep the stadium busy.

“It was great to see patrons at Mt Smart Stadium enjoying themselves at the drive-in movies. Creating a memorable experience is what we’re all about at Auckland Stadiums."

Another source of revenue is digital billboards. Go Media is the new digital billboard partner for Auckland Stadiums, appointed following a rigorous tender process.

Images: Fans at Mt Smart Stadium (top) and the movie Bohemian Rhapsody being screened as a drive-in (below). Images courtesy of Mt Smart Stadium/Facebook.

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