A proposition for the use of curtains to adjust the capacity of the stadium to cater for different scales of events would be presented to the Dunedin City Council next Wednesday, Dunedin Venues Management Ltd (DVML) chief executive Paul Doorn said.
He described the proposal as "a major milestone" for the stadium.
"The local Dunedin resident is concerned that it’s not being used enough," Mr Doorn said.
"I think this provides a really important way forward to get more events and more uses from the stadium."
The concept at present was to have a curtain stretching across the width of the stadium and intersected by another, providing four different options for the stadium to be configured in, he said.
Those configurations would be an "arena mode" (8000-12,000 seats), "mini-arena mode" (3000-5000 seats), the existing full capacity venue (38,000 seats) and another reduced capacity arrangement (20,000 seats).
As well as concerts by international artists, Mr Doorn said using the stadium in a reduced capacity for sport — such as a tennis or basketball match — was also being considered.
The curtains would not be permanent fixtures and could be taken down.
Quite a bit of infrastructure would be needed in the roof but, if they went ahead, the curtains were expected to be in place by the end of this year.
Mr Doorn declined to say how much the proposal was expected to cost, but described it as a "significant upgrade".
"You can just as easily play sport on it one day and have a concert the next.
"It just creates greater opportunities for variety for bookings going forward."
He had heard Christchurch’s new $683 million One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha included a curtain system of its own.
But Mr Doorn said he was "not really interested" in being better or different to other stadiums.
Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland all had stadiums for large shows and indoor arenas for smaller shows, he said.
"Dunedin doesn’t have that.
"This allows us to be able to have a bit both ways — it’s both a stadium and it also can be configured into a much smaller space to be able to have the sorts of artists that currently attend Wolfbrook or Spark or TSB Arenas.
"It isn’t going head-to-head with one particular venue, it’s trying to take the best of those other places and then bring that to Dunedin."
Forsyth Barr Stadium has already been the recipient of a major cash injection this year.
Councillors earlier this month voted to approve $1.25 million of additional funding in 2026-27, followed by a further $1.25m from 2027-28 onwards, to support capital expenditure and debt repayment for the stadium.
That was described as "a bitter pill" to swallow by Cr Mickey Treadwell.
Mr Doorn said the feedback from the events industry was quite clear.
"Artists are not looking to play in large, empty stadiums.
"This provides us with the opportunity to make Forsyth Barr Stadium a much more intimate experience."
The proposal was revealed in a council report that said, following engagement with promoters and event owners, both DVML and Dunedin Stadium Property Ltd were exploring ways "to make the stadium more attractive to hirers".
"This includes exploring ways to adjust the capacity of the stadium for different events," the report said.
