Spark Arena busier than London's Wembley Arena

Auckland, NZ (8 October, 2019) - Spark Arena in Auckland has featured in a new list of the world’s leading arenas, according to Billboard’s newly published 2019 Arena Power List.

Based on annual gross sales, Auckland’s 12,000 capacity arena has come in at number seven in the ‘Top 10 Arenas with a capacity of 15,001’ remarkably above London’s legendary Wembley Arena.

The venue has been in operation since 2007 and has hosted close to 5.5 million people across a diverse range of shows. It’s a key driver of inbound tourism to Auckland with people from across New Zealand attending world class events at the venue.

In 2015, Live Nation became a majority shareholder of Spark Arena, alongside Michael Coppel, and Stuart and Judith Clumpas who began operating the arena from 2010.

Just last year, Clumpas was appointed Chairman of Live Nation New Zealand and under his leadership the team at Spark Arena have rolled out a number of industry-leading initiatives and hosted the biggest events to come to the country.

Commenting on the milestone, Clumpas said: “I’m pretty gobsmacked that we have come out ahead of Wembley Arena in London; if you’d have told me 30 years ago that I’d operate an arena in Auckland that is busier than Wembley, I wouldn’t have believed you.

“This achievement is testament to the solid support of our hirers, and the talented individuals who make up the team at Spark Arena. They work tirelessly to deliver a world class venue experience to those on the stage or court, and to the audience out front watching them. Over the past 12 years, we’ve hosted the very biggest and best acts from around the world and I’m proud that Auckland is now a permanent fixture on the international touring map, not just a sometime add-on to an Australian tour.”

In 2018, P!nk’s Beautiful Trauma tour broke the record at Spark Arena with six sold-out shows playing to 73,087 fans. Not only does the arena host the world’s biggest acts but The Tuning Fork, the “baby venue” located at the front of the Arena, continues to grow. From a cautious start in 2014, The Tuning Fork has presented more than 60 shows in 2018.

“The Tuning Fork really came of age this year with Billie Eilish selling out the main arena to more than 9,000 fans, after she played The Tuning Fork twice in 2017 and 2018,” says General Manager of Spark Arena, Brendan Hines.

“Spark Arena bigger then Wembley Arena. Who’d have thought,” concluded Clumpas.

© Scoop Media