Of course, any organisation is bigger than one person, but Dunedin Venues Management Ltd chief executive Paul Doorn had been well-regarded and respected.
He also exuded bullish assurance in the future ability of the stadium to attracted revenue-gathering concerts and major events — those have yet to manifest themselves, but he has publicly said that he thought announcements would be made in June or July.
More concerning is that the events business, and especially the live concerts business, is largely driven by personal relationships.
While the bottom line almost always wins out at the end of the day, if it is a close call on where to hold a show or event, promoters will always give favourable consideration to a venue manager they like, know well, and have worked successfully with before.
The Australian executive was hired for the connections he had made during a successful career in New South Wales, and had pitched various possibilities for using the stadium differently, or reconfiguring it for smaller-scale events.
Dunedin had a taste of that over the weekend when the stadium hosted a small show as part of the Wild Dunedin festival, and it was regarded as a successful test run for what may lie ahead.
However, it will not be Mr Doorn at the helm of what ratepayers will be hoping will be a bright future.
He, candidly, told the Otago Daily Times that he would be departing with the stadium at an ‘‘exciting, if challenging’’ position.
That may well be a masterly understatement. While Forsyth Barr Stadium, rightly, has a proven reputation for holding sports events and has hosted football and rugby World Cup matches under its roof, its acoustical quirks and distance from a large international airport have always bedevilled efforts to establish it on the international concert circuit.
Many believe that the opening of the new stadium in Christchurch — a city which has the vital transport links, accommodation providers and population base that Dunedin cannot match — will hamstring Forsyth Barr Stadium in the race for events.
That remains to be seen, but the early signs are not promising. Even allowing for the attraction of the shiny and new being on the side of Christchurch’s Te Kaha, economics and demographics are far harder hurdles to clear.
Dunedin can perhaps look at the example of Hamilton, just down the road from the economic colossus of Auckland, as one to follow. In March it reclaimed the Homegrown festival from Wellington and made a real success of it.
Dunedin was reportedly in the running to take over the festival. While that ambition was thwarted, the idea of a bespoke, unique event to the South, seems like a possible direction of travel.
Perhaps the city should find a festival idea of its own, or maybe borrow a successful concept from elsewhere? Something like the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival, where acclaimed artists curated a line-up of their choosing, might perhaps work here?
Mr Doorn had called for blue sky thinking when it came to the stadium, which is all very well, but whatever is to be done will likely cost money. Ratepayers have already paid millions for the stadium and last month pitched up with a couple of million more.
There is an understandable reluctance to send even more money in the stadium’s direction, but there is also a cost to be paid in not utilising it to its maximum given that it is already built.
Given the predicament the stadium is in, Cr Lee Vandervis’ vision of an affordable venue used by for a multitude of sports and community events, has something to recommend it.
Even if the days of Ed Sheeran and Elton John are behind Dunedin, the stadium is still there and it should not be left to gather cobwebs for much of the year.
