Golden Oldies success or flop?
Christchurch’s tourism body has praised the Golden Oldies sports festival as a ‘‘fantastic opportunity’’ for the city, despite dwindling attendance and lowered economic expectations.
Some have described parts of the month-long festival as ‘‘very average’’, but city council-owned ChristchurchNZ was full of praise when asked if the month was a success.
The international event, which wrapped up at the weekend, ran cricket, golf, hockey, bowls and rugby tournaments for players aged 35 and up. Day tours and pre and post-event tours were also arranged for attendees. However, it pulled half the number of players and supporters expected – promoted as involving 10,000 players from 16 countries across 10 sports, the festival had six sports and pulled just over 5000 people.
Dwindling interest meant Golden Oldies was expected to produce less than half of the economic benefits for Canterbury than first expected – $15 million, instead of $33m suggested when it was announced three years ago.
Hospitality New Zealand (HNZ) Canterbury branch president and national treasurer Peter Morrison said the event had provided a boost for the hospitality sector, but he also expressed some disappointment.
‘‘It was a shame they didn’t get all the other sports to partake . . . When the cricket was on it was good as well, but there were two weeks in the middle there that was just very average,’’ Morrison said.
‘‘It certainly helps and we need more events like that, especially in the shoulder seasons like April.’’
The city council contributed $200,000 to festival costs and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment put up $550,000.
Critics of the festival had said compulsory add-ons and packages inflated prices, which made the event unattainable for some social groups. A Vintage Sport and Leisure chief executive Simon Brady team entry soccer cost $200, but out-oftown players also had to buy a Festival Package, making the seven-night event an ‘‘absolute joke’’ for some.
In an emailed statement, a ChristchurchNZ spokeswoman said the event had been a ‘‘fantastic opportunity for Christchurch to showcase our new city to the world and welcome international visitors to our region’’.
‘‘Major events like the Golden Oldies leave a legacy for our city and are a great opportunity for the people of Christchurch to share our new city with the world,’’ she said. ‘‘International exposure from events like these is priceless in sharing the message that Christchurch is back as one of the leading major events destinations in New Zealand.’’
Simon Brady, chief executive of Vintage Sport and Leisure, which organised the event, said the festival had been ‘‘an amazing month’’.
‘‘I stood at the exit door and said ‘goodbye’ to people and look they were hugging me and picking me up and throwing me around – they’ve just had an absolute blast. That’s the reason we run events, to be honest – it’s that thrill you get from seeing just how much fun people can have at something that you’ve put together.’’
Brady said he ‘‘would be surprised’’ if the economic benefit to the city was not more than $15m.
‘‘The numbers that we got first and foremost we’re really happy with – it’s no mean feat to pull that many people together.’’