Arena Market: New Zealand

New Zealand’s small population is spread over a large country in the South Pacific, although its urban population is centred on the two North Island cities of Wellington and Auckland, which is where the vast majority of music and cultural and sporting events take place.

The Spark Arena is a 13,280-cap venue in the country’s biggest city, Auckland. It recently increased capacity by 1,000, offering a standing capacity of 4,400 and has installed a new rolling stage, which “has made a big difference to load-in and load-out times,” says GM Mark Gosling.

“The arena celebrated a record year in 2023, since opening in 2007, with a wide range of international talent. And in March alone, we broke the nightly attendance record twice,” he adds. “We are confident that the pipeline of international acts is looking consistent for the remainder of 2024 and into early 2025. The pandemic impact has largely subsided, and the touring cycle has returned back to its normal timing, with the southern hemisphere very busy from October through to April during the northern winter.”In Wellington, the 6,000-cap TSB Arena is a key venue. But there are arenas in the smaller cities, too.

Christchurch Arena comes in at 9,000-cap, whilst in Hamilton, the 6-000-cap Claudelands Arena hosted the first show of local legends’ Crowded House’s 2021 tour.

“Things look very good – particularly in the international space – a lot of enquiries from all genres, and we’re definitely seeing an upturn in the Indian, Chinese, Asian markets. I think for us there is definitely an opportunity in the Asian market for new content. Rock is doing well, drum & bass, too, and we’re particularly strong in that Bollywood show space right now,” says Simon Daly of The Trusts Arena in Auckland. It has a capacity of 1,500-6,800 and has hosted gigs by Chase & Status, Incubus, and Hybrid Minds recently. Daly adds: “Sales patterns are strange– there seems to be a lack of confidence with ticket-buyers right now; this is down to the many cancellations of shows, which is making people buy late.”