ROGER MORONEY
Heavy demand for tickets to see UB40 in Hawke's Bay has resulted in the promoters staging a second concert in Napier.
"The Thursday concert sold out quite quickly so the promoters came back to us to offer a second concert," Ticketdirect manager Roger Coleman said today.
Being offered the extra gig
at the Pettigrew-Green Arena was a real coup for the region, he said, adding that the extra Napier concert was the only additional show being added to the New Zealand tour.
The real bonus though was that the promoters, Andrew McManus, were major players in the business and would have recognised that Hawke's Bay is a good sales and staging arena for such concerts.
"It could have the flow-on effect of attracting other major acts here," Mr Coleman said.
The additional concert will be staged the day before, on Wednesday, February 22, with tickets going on sale today at both the stadium office and on the www.ticketdirect.co.nz website.
Mr Coleman said there were already more than 100 people on the overflow "waiting" list from the sold-out Thursday concert.
He said the design of the venue meant staging a major music concert was as simple as moving one stand of seating and placing a carpet covering down. There will be seating for 1000 with the rest on the floor.
The venue has recently been recognised by the New Zealand Recreation Association with a NZ Facilities Award, recognising it as the overall best in the country in terms of what it offers, and how it has been marketed and managed.
Another of February's major concerts, Olivia Newton-John and Chris De Burgh at the Mission Estate Winery, still has tickets available through its website.
Promoters Sports and Entertainment Ltd have not revealed how many tickets have so far been sold.
The number being sold on the TradeMe website have dropped from more than 200 to about 100, while accommodation bookings for Mission weekend were solid.
