IT’S SHAPING UP TO BE A BUSY year for convention and exhibition centres around New Zealand. Below is an update on three key players.

Rotorua Energy Events Centre
Bookings have already started rolling in for the Rotorua Energy Events Centre, set for completion at the end of this year. The $25 million lakeside conference, events and exhibitions complex, is well underway in Government Gardens immediately behind the city’s iconic ‘Bath House’ museum building. Scheduled to open early 2007 it will be the seventh venue managed by Event Venues Rotorua, which also manages the Rotorua Convention Centre, Soundshell, International Stadium, Civic Theatre, Sportsdrome, and Te Runanga Tea House.

When completed in late 2006, the Energy Events Centre will be able to host large conferences in a series of flexible multi-purpose meeting spaces and will have the capacity to accommodate a fully seated banquet for 2600 diners in its Unison Arena. This versatile space will be the largest indoor exhibition venue in the city, and will have the capacity to be transformed into a centre court sports venue with hi-tech timber flooring and automated retractable seating for around 3000 spectators. Event Venues sales and marketing manager Diana Moore says construction of the new events centre is mostly on track.

In January the steel frames for the centre were erected while more foundations were to be laid this month. Mrs Moore said interest in the events centre has been extremely positive. “So far the interest has surpassed our projection. We’ve got quite a number of bigger conferences that have verbally confirmed their interest. In the next couple of weeks I will be following them up and hopefully we will lock a few in.” Mrs Moore said the events centre will aim for larger conferences, exhibitions, sporting events and functions that Rotorua previously did not have the capacity to hold. “The events industries have been constantly telling us they need another large scale facility outside of New Zealand’s major metropolitans – somewhere with ample accommodation and good tourism infrastructure to support it. Rotorua certainly fits that bill. And this new project, in tandem with our existing Rotorua Convention Centre nearby, will boost Rotorua’s reputation as one of New Zealand’s pre-eminent conference and event destinations.”

In the past Rotorua has had to turn away large-scale events, which usually head to Auckland or Christchurch. Those events which have already verbally confirmed their interest are for groups of between 1000 and 2000 delegates. “It’s very exciting. We’re quietly pumping away.” Mrs Moore said Event Venues will begin planning the new centre’s opening launch soon. “Once we get a firm opening date we will plan the launch. We would like to have an event from each sector; conferencing, the community, the arts, and function/events. We would also like to have a major conference to take place at the beginning of the year. If we can somehow tie it all in that would be great.”

Apart from the MICE sector and large sporting events, Event Venues will also aim the new centre at other big events. “We will be talking to other major functions such as the Young Farmers,” she said. Meanwhile a new virtual reality tour of the Energy Events Centre has been met with enthusiastic and impressed clients Mrs Moore said. The official launch date and exact celebrations will be announced closer to the time. For more information about any of Event Venues Rotorua’s venues visit www.eventvenues.co.nz

Mystery Creek Events Centre
Mystery Creek Events Centre, just outside Hamilton, is developing a new website to be launched by the end of April, as a response to feedback from clients, visitors and staff. The feedback also revealed there was a need to update all of Mystery Creek Event Centre’s five event and product sites.

The New Zealand National Motor Show website was launched in September 2005 as stage one of the redevelopments by Tauranga-based Cohesion Communications Ltd. The New Zealand National Fieldays website is next on the list, with the launch on March 1 in time for the 38th National Fieldays event in June this year. Mystery Creek marketing executive Elysia Shirtliff said the centre is constantly growing and securing new events. “To continue to be a key player in the market and provide our clients and visitors with the services they require, we desperately needed to improve our website and its functionality.” The new look website will be interactive and multi-functional according to Miss Shirtliff. “It will include pages on each of the venues with cad drawings, venue capacities and information, virtual tours, and a comprehensive photo gallery. There will be an updated events and news section, meet the team, seat planner, and links to ticketing.”

The official launch at the end of April will include a direct mailer to event planners, along with the centre’s freshly designed information packs. “The Convention Centre has really changed our image and we needed fresh marketing material to match this,” she said. To request an information pack contact Miss Shirtliff on telephone (07) 843 4499. Otherwise visit the new website once it is completed at the end of April at www.mysterycreek.co.nz Meanwhile Mystery Creek Events Centre has secured two new large conferences for 2006, along with its calendar of annual events. The NZ Large Herd Association is holding a three-day conference and gala dinner for 500 delegates there, while the Foundation for Arable Research is having a two-day conference for 300 people, along with a maize forum. This year also includes the launch of a new product – corporate training and team-building will be added to Mystery Creek’s impressive portfolio.

Auckland Convention Centre at THE EDGE®
Putting customers’ needs first has brought about the development of a new 700-seat classroom-style conference facility at Auckland Convention Centre at THE EDGE®. In spite of being a classroomstyle seting, there is unlikely to be any paper-dart throwing when the new facility is used during the Commonwealth Local Government Conference in March 2007. The prestigious conference is being hosted by the New Zealand Government and will be attended by ministers, mayors and local government leaders from all over the world. A number of heads of government are also expected to attend the fiveday conference.

In order to secure the contract for the Commonwealth Local Government Conference, Auckland Convention Centre at THE EDGE® committed to developing the sophisticated seating set-up that will see the 2200-seat ASB Theatre in the Aotea Centre transformed into a 700-seat United Nations-style conference room. Auckland Convention Centre sales manager Kate Offord said the process of changing what was designed as a performing arts theatre into this style of conference facility required a large amount of innovation from THE EDGE® Technical Services team.

“Firstly, we needed to see if it could be done without compromising or damaging the ASB Theatre seats as this set-up means the seats will be removed and replaced on a regular basis. “We are confident that the new table-top design that has been developed by THE EDGE® will provide the Commonwealth Local Government Conference delegates with an internationalstandard facility that is both functional and comfortable.”

To create the facility, every second row of seats is removed from the theatre and the table tops brought in to provide the 700 delegates with comfortable classroom-style seating including a table-top, microphone and a facility for translation services.

The Commonwealth Local Government Conference is held biennially and is organised by the Commonwealth Local Government Forum that has members from more than 160 organisations in 40 Commonwealth countries. Ms Offord said the new seating style adds valuable flexibility to the Auckland Convention Centre’s facilities and other clients are also looking at using this sophisticated option.

“This project has been 100 per cent client driven and demonstrates the commitment that Auckland Convention Centre at THE EDGE® has to meeting client’s needs,” she said. For more information on Auckland Convention Centre at THE EDGE® visit www.the-edge.co.nz