"We were worried when it went up for sale it could be sold offshore. We really value it as a music venue. We approached lots of different people about being a partner, and in the end we managed to put a consortium together and was able to make the purchase two months ago. It's very exiting."
Festival Trust chairwoman Kathryn Lellman said the palace was an integral part of the festival, and purchasing the share meant they now had certainty around the venue.
"Venues are one of our biggest costs," she said. "Given a lack of publicly available venues in Tauranga, securing the palace is really important for the continuity of our festival. There was a concern that if the palace was unavailable it would put us in a very difficult position."
For the next five years the venue will be known as the Carrus Crystal Palace, as Tauranga's share was donated by Carrus Group founders Paul and Cheryl Adams through their trust, the Bethlehem Charitable Trust.
* The Tauranga Arts Festival will take place between October 19 to 29, 2017.