27 May 2013

Convention Centre - Site Options Considered

The Queenstown Lakes District Council continues to make solid progress towards consultation with the community over a proposed world class Convention Centre for Queenstown, QLDC Chief Executive Adam Feeley said.

The Council announced in February that it had selected a consortium including Ngai Tahu Property Limited and Morris and Co to take the project to the next stage.

“Our Draft Annual Plan consultation requested general feedback on the concept and I am looking forward to working through the comments but as we indicated in that process our intention is to undertake a dedicated consultation with the community before year’s end,” Mr Feeley said.

Details still being worked through included scope, cost and location.

“The Council had identified the Lakeview site as one with cost effective potential, given it’s a large flat site, and sensational locality in terms of proximity to the central business district and outstanding views,” Mr Feeley said.

As a Council it was an imperative to always test options and for that reason other sites needed to be considered. “There are three Council-owned sites with the potential to be suitable, being Lakeview, Stanley Street and the Gorge Road car park. The location will form part of our conversation with the community,” QLDC Mayor Vanessa van Uden said.

Although the Lakeview site was a good fit in terms of the ability to leverage other commercial opportunities - key to the success of the centre - the potential of the other two sites needed to be understood more fully from economic benefit, financial and consenting perspectives. “In parallel with the preparation of information for consultation are the negotiations with both the funders and the proposed operator SKYCITY Entertainment Group,” Mr Feeley said.

“As I have previously stated there are many strands to this. The investors need to know the the project is financially viable; the operator needs to know it represents a good business opportunity; central and local government need to ensure that the scope of any contribution is both well-defined and capped and that the process has been robust,” he said.

From the community’s perspective all the implications needed to be fully on the table, Mayor van Uden said. A further update on the project was planned for June, Mr Feeley said.

ENDS

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