Bold SkyCity pitch to host conferences

SkyCity wants to build a 4600-seat national convention centre in Hobson St and to extend its existing conference facilities. Photo / Dean Purcell

SkyCity wants to build the country's first international convention centre opposite its casino in downtown Auckland.

Chief executive Nigel Morrison says that if SkyCity wins the right to develop, it will demolish an office block where its staff work at 101 Hobson St, near TVNZ's national headquarters.

His plans are a response to calls by the Ministry of Economic Development for expressions of interest to identify a site for a world-standard convention and exhibition centre by June 18.

A feasibility study has picked the Auckland central business district as the best area and found the cost would be $329 million for a midtown project around Aotea Square, $383 million at Wynyard Quarter, and $405 million-$550 million for a waterfront site.

At this stage, there is no funding package for the centre from either central or local government.

Economic Development Minister Gerry Brownlee has called for a 3500-seat to 5000-seat convention centre, which Auckland wants, although the hunt is nationwide.

SkyCity's proposal is just one in the offing.

Mr Morrison said Auckland and Adelaide had been ear-marked for big expansions of SkyCity's business.

His new convention centre would be connected to the casino and the four-star, 360-room SkyCity Hotel by a Hobson St airbridge. A three-level convention centre, large enough for New Zealand to join the lucrative international meetings, convention and exhibitions circuit, could go on the site.

Hobson St was best, being surrounded by services, infrastructure and transport links, he said.

"A national convention centre in Auckland does make sense and we would say that it should also be in the CBD and surrounded by hotel rooms and with access to university.

"We have a site at 101 Hobson St and we would be very keen to explore the feasibility of developing that and we have plans and drawings that we are pulling together. It's now commercial office space but we could accommodate sit-down for 4600 people there," Mr Morrison said.

"We've invested in Darwin and we see Adelaide and Auckland as the two places we want to invest in during the near-term. We see creating infrastructure that brings more international tourists to Auckland as being very much aligned with what we want to do, so convention centres and more restaurants and bars are where we see ourselves investing in," he said.

These plans, yet to go to the Auckland City Council, are in addition to SkyCity's plans to expand its existing Albert St/Federal St conference centre, doubling the number it can cater for to 2000.

A report on that $20 million to $40 million project went to the council's city development committee this month, and involves SkyCity leasing airspace and building a 48m-wide structure on level five above Federal St, where it already has two airbridges.

Simon Jamieson, SkyCity's hotels group general manager for Auckland, said the structure would be almost as wide as the five-star, 316-room SkyCity Grand Hotel.

The city council's feasibility report has put the cost of a national convention centre at $550 million on a rebuilt wharf, $477 million straddling land and water, and $405 million on a wharf with no rebuild.

It could pull in 22,000 extra international visitors and $85.4 million in tourism-related spending a year.

Mr Morrison said expanding the existing Albert St/Federal St convention centre would complement the new plans for a 4600-seat national convention centre.

"They're independent. You have a lot of balls in the air at any one time. Some land, some don't. You could do one and not the other but we'd be keen to do both. It creates operational flexibility. If you get a national convention space, you'll get business coming to New Zealand that isn't coming right now.

"Big conferences go to Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney. They don't even come here. We're not even on the radar.

"If we get this in Auckland, it will grow the number of international visitors and that's going to be very good for everyone in Auckland."

CASINO'S PLANS
* Expand existing convention centre from 1000 to 2000 people.
* Build new 4600-seat national convention centre in Hobson St.
* Airbridge over Hobson St, linking new convention centre to casino.
* Bridge over Federal St to expand existing convention centre.
* 'Pedestrian-ise' Federal St, open five new restaurants.