30 November 2018

Te Rauparaha Arena is used to hosting events where silverware is won – now it has a trophy of its own.

The Porirua venue won the Medium Venue of the Year (1001 to 4999 seats) at the 2018 Entertainment Venues Association of New Zealand annual awards dinner, which took place at Eden Park on Tuesday.

Te Rauparaha Arena, a second-time finalist, was up against the Trafalgar Centre in Nelson for the award.

The judges decided that the Arena “more than exceeded both income and visitor target numbers consistently and has proven its value to the community and the citywide economy”.

Other criteria that ticked boxes included an understanding of the venue’s vision and goals, customer focus, good engagement with the community and proven sustainability.

Helen Brookes, Manager Events at Porirua City Council, was in Auckland to receive the award. She said she was stunned to hear Te Rauparaha Arena read out as the winning entry.

“It was very, very cool and to get great feedback from the judges and people from venues like Eden Park and Spark Arena was incredibly satisfying,” she said.

“This award means a lot to our staff, especially a week after our 10th birthday, and it’s an endorsement to our community that we’re doing a good job here.

“We’re confident in what we’re doing and we want to keep that standard high.”

Ms Brookes said Te Rauparaha Arena will continue to strike the balance between being an integral community venue for Porirua and the desire to host regional, national and international sport and events.

Events on the calendar in the coming months include a school prizegiving, two weddings, a Government conference, a Whitireia graduation and Central Pulse matches.

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