"I think there's three key things that make Western Springs a great site," Smith said. "I always had a feeling that these shows should be in a central city environment, that they should be urban. The next thing is that if there's one thing I've learned over 10 years of doing Big Day Out, grass rules. The more grass you have, the happier people are.
"And thirdly, if you want to build something different and make a statement about it, then a key part of that is doing it in a different place."
Another new aspect to the 2014 event will be the expansion of the artistic and cultural components.
"I've been to things like Pasifika and the Lantern Festival, and I can't see why we can't have different elements like they have."
Mayor Len Brown was delighted The Big Day Out NZ was returning to Auckland.
"Any world class city has a constellation of events to cater for the tastes of all of its residents - young and not so young.
Returning a Big Day Out to our calendar in 2014 would fill a huge hole and the proposed relocation to Western Springs would "bring this significant music and culture event right into the city for residents and the thousands of visitors it draws to Auckland," he said.
Organisers are seeking a five-year resource consent.
