Broad support, slight unease

Questions surrounding Wellington’s proposed indoor arena have some decision makers uneasy.

Wellingtonians and city officials have long pushed for a new, covered venue to stand up against the likes of Auckland’s Spark Arena and Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium.

A proposal to build a 12,000-seat arena on defunct harbour land was revealed on Tuesday, and has broad support.

But event promoters are wary of promises that big acts and big promoters could be involved, and not all are convinced the arena should settle on the troublesome waterfront turf.

Wellington Mayor Justin Lester said the arena – so far pegged to cost ratepayers $85 million – would make New Zealand a touring destination in its own right.

The clamour for an indoor arena intensified when the capital missed out on acts such as Ed Sheeran and Adele. But promoter Brent Eccles said a 12,000-seat arena, no matter how good, was unlikely to attract huge international artists.

‘‘I don’t know of many acts that would do Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, on an arena level. They usually do just one, or at best one in the north and one in the south,’’ he said.

Eccles predicted a new arena could attract alternative acts with more ‘‘cultural standing’’.

Wellington promoter Phil Sprey would rather see a larger 15,000-seat arena, but was confident the existing plan would draw the same shows Auckland has seen. He said there had been talk of big global promoters being involved in a public-private partnership, which was concerning.

‘‘There’s an inherent problem with that: they want the management control, and through that they will actually stifle community events and stifle competition. In an ideal world, it should be managed by the same trust that manages the Westpac Stadium.’’

Wellington councillor Iona Pannett said the waterfront site had proven to be ‘‘highly problematic’’, after the 2016 Kaiko¯ ura quake damaged buildings.

‘‘We need to be very, very cautious given the liquefaction issues, and given the sea level issues.’’

Lower Hutt mayor Ray Wallace was supportive though similarly cautious, saying more seats and due diligence on the site were required.

Upper Hutt mayor Wayne Guppy said the proposed site for the arena was ‘‘outstanding’’.