Wellington Chamber of Commerce
Media Statement
Tuesday 8th December 2015

Convention centre move welcomed by Chamber

Wellington Chamber of Commerce welcomes the decision by city councillors to purchase land as the first step to building a combined convention centre and movie museum.

Chief Executive John Milford says the $134 million project has real potential to deliver big opportunities to the city and the region.

“This looks to be an exciting proposal which, if delivered as promised, will perfectly complement the many other attractions we offer to both business people and tourists.

“The chamber supported the previous convention centre proposal, which was to be financed by a private developer and included a hotel. This version carries more risk for the council but there is also more reward.

“It’s a matter of balancing the two. It’s certainly a big price tag, but equally it will be a strategic attraction asset for the city with an ongoing revenue stream.

“We’re already regarded as the movie capital of New Zealand, and having a museum run by Sir Peter Jackson and Sir Richard Taylor, and filled with memorabilia, props and models from their personal collections, would really put us on the world movie map.

“They have a proven track record of creating imagery and set pieces that attract world-class audiences.

“The city is also badly in need of a top-class convention centre. Since the 2013 earthquakes the city has been without the Town Hall and has struggled to provide choice in conference venues. It is at best only just satisfactory and not fit for purpose for larger delegate numbers.

“With the second highest share of the current market there is a real opportunity for the city to have a purpose-built convention centre which can met the demands of both domestic and international markets.

“We already attract conventions but ideally need a bigger venue to take that up a level.

“The city’s entertainment, dining and accommodation sector all stand to benefit from the higher numbers of convention attendees.

“The chamber would like to see some more detail on the business case for attracting both tourists and conventions, because the centre’s ongoing viability will heavily rely on them, and failure would fall back on ratepayers.

“The chamber also would like some further clarity on the source of the funding, so that the impost is shared across all ratepayer groups, not just business or downtown-levy ratepayers.

“The good news is that Positively Wellington Venues has a great record of attracting events, and a completion date of 2018 will certainly give us the inside running against the likes of Auckland, Christchurch, and Queenstown which have convention centres not scheduled to be built till after that.

“Done properly, this project has the potential to bring in more high-value visitors, and allow us to showcase our strengths – our tourist attractions, our environment, our ICT sector, and our education sector.”

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