Theatre taking shape in Hamilton
Gus Sharp appointed general manager of theatre
Construction of the new Waikato Regional Theatre in the heart of Hamilton’s CBD is well under way with two cranes now towering over the site and the announcement of the theatre’s inaugural general manager.
Fosters Construction, started work on the new 1300-seat theatre in November 2021 with major demolition and earthworks on the Victoria St site where the historic Hamilton Hotel used to be.
The new theatre design preserves and incorporates the original facade of the hotel and it is now supported in a steel frame during construction.
The site is surrounded by a fence which has a history timeline mural along the Victoria St side.
With the two cranes on site and the groundworks well under way the first piles are now in place. The theatre project has been driven by the Momentum Waikato Community Foundation.
Wellingtonian and former New Zealand Major Events adviser Gus Sharp is inaugural general manager of the theatre.
Sharp will be responsible for the preliminary planning needed before the curtains can be raised mid-next year.
Sharp has long been involved in New Zealand’s creative and event scene, and is joining Hamilton from the capital where he worked at Venues Wellington as an event sales and planning manager.
Sharp has spent some time with the government organisation New Zealand Major Events where he has overseen and run some of the country’s biggest events.
He was also Wellington’s sponsorship manager for the Rugby League World Cup in 2017 and the former chief executive of the Creative Capital Arts Trust.
Sharp said he was really excited, honoured and “a bit daunted” to share the news about his new role.
“I can’t wait to get up to Kirikiriroa and take on the challenge. I’m so looking forward to building an awesome team and opening an absolutely incredible theatre.”
Sharp joins the theatre’s executive team which includes the two Waikato Regional Theatre Operating Company Board directors Deborah Nudds and Chris Williams, as well as the other board members Ross Hargood, Belinda Mulgrew, and Scott Ratuki, Margi Moore, Ken Williamson and Glenn Holmes from the Waikato Regional Property Trust (WRPT).
Together with Hamilton’s Rotary clubs, Momentum Waikato is working on getting a related project across the line — the much-talked-about pedestrian and cycling bridge across the river which will connect the CBD to the eastern cycleways.
Momentum has announced that the bridge would work best at the location at the north side of the Waikato Museum and the south end of Memorial Park after considering a total of five options.
The bridge received Government funding in November and has the potential to become a local landmark that contributes to a vibrant central city centred around the new theatre, Victoria on the River and the Waikato Museum.