24 May 2006

Closing Auckland’s Entertainment Precinct For 2 Years Or Longer – A Nonsense!”

Shutting down the Aotea Centre – Auckland Town Hall entertainment precinct of the City for two years is a “stupid and farcical proposal” showing all the hallmarks of a Council having no understanding of what is at the heart and soul of Auckland’s success.

“You do not pull out of the conference-entertainment circuit for a couple of years or longer after investing huge time and money building up the brand of Aotea Centre-Town Hall-Civic Centre as a wonderful place to hold international conferences and concerts,” said Auckland Chamber of Commerce CEO Michael Barnett.

Civic leaders in competing cities like Adelaide, Brisbane, Christchurch and Wellington will be laughing their heads offs. Following on from the debacles over the hosting of street races and Western Springs noise levels – the idea of closing the Centre down is a nonsense.

There must be a more pragmatic strategy that the City bureaucrats can design that keeps these prime venues open for entertainment and conferences.

“It’s hardly a vote of confidence in Auckland’s ability to host top events around the time of Rugby World Cup 2011 – now just five years away.”

This proposal is like pulling the rug out from under Auckland just when we are starting to make some progress, said Michael Barnett.

ENDS

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