Plan to invest in Forsyth Barr Stadium as Christchurch's new covered arena opens

‘‘Innovative’’ investment unveiled for Dunedin’s covered stadium will attract a wide range of acts the city is missing out on, the venue boss says.

Dunedin Venues Management Ltd yesterday revealed plans for a capacity-reduction system at Forsyth Barr Stadium, expected to be in play by summer.

Using a series of retractable curtains, the system will create a scalable indoor environment for events with crowds from 3000 to the maximum capacity of 38,000, as reported by the Otago Daily Times last week.

Chief executive Paul Doorn said the changes would address the ‘‘Goldilocks problem’’ Dunedin faced — the city was well placed for small and large events, but missed out on hosting increasing popular mid-sized events.

‘‘The capacity reduction system will actually drive much better conversations with people about saying, ‘What’s the act or artist or sporting event that you’ve got ... and how can I shape the stadium to be the right size for the right people?’.

‘‘It just creates greater versatility,’’ he said.

DVML also announced a 10-year partnership with Ticketek, which would become the exclusive ticketing partner for the stadium and the Dunedin Centre.

Mr Doorn declined to reveal the cost of the new system, but said Ticketek had made a ‘‘large’’ contribution.

‘‘I think people should see the fact that they’re willing to help invest in it as being a really important part of the initiative.’’

The intention was to finish detailed design work in the coming months, with installation due before Christmas and the system in use by acts touring in the new year.

‘‘It’s a complicated and really innovative design ... growing the grass and getting sunlight to the grass is still a critical component,’’ Mr Doorn said.

‘‘You’ll see some high-tensile wire running across the stadium that are part of the levers to be able to lift things up and down.

‘‘But other than that, I think it’ll still be a very clean roof.’’

There would be a learning curve regarding the curtains and acoustics, Mr Doorn said.

‘‘We actually will be spending some really quality time making sure we try to maximise the use of the curtains, the floor space and the sound to make it a really good fan experience.’’

Doorn said the Dunedin City Council was informed about the business case at a non-public section of Wednesday’s council meeting.

"The approval of the CRS is a decision for the Board of [Dunedin City Holdings Ltd]," he said.

It comes as the ribbon was cut on Friday to officially open Christchurch's new central city stadium.

The ceremony at One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha included a site blessing and speeches.

Guests at the event had the option of walking through the covered stadium after the formalities.

The 25,000 permanent-seat arena cost $683 million to build, with construction starting in April 2022.

The stadium is a direct competitor to Forsyth Barr Stadium when it comes to attracting large-scale concerts and events.

The first major events at the stadium include the Super Rugby Pacific: Super Round from April 24 to 26, three more Crusaders home games, and the Warriors v North Queensland Cowboys NRL match on June 21.

The sold-out opening Super Round fixture between the Crusaders and Waratahs will be on the Friday night. 

The stadium will also be opened up to the public from 10am to 4pm on Saturday, May 2, for its first Community Open Day. 

-Additional reporting by Star News