The BNZ Theatre has a 1300-seat auditorium across three levels. Photo / Stephen Barker
Hamilton got its grand stage back after the Waikato Regional Theatre, now BNZ Theatre, raised its curtain last week.
The first performers, all locals, took to the stage last Monday for an invitation-only civic opening show called To the Stars/Kingā Whetū, before New Zealand soul singer Teeks led the official opening on Friday.
Sir Dave Dobbyn performed two shows at BNZ Theatre at the weekend.
Venue manager Michael Gilling said those were only the first big acts.
“What I’m really looking forward to seeing is what brings [the buzz] back to Waikato. I mean, we’ve been off the map since 2016.
“So bringing Hamilton back onto the map with ... big shows like the Royal New Zealand Ballet, a full NZ Symphony Orchestra, even the musicals of Hamilton Operatic Society.
“I can’t stop the line at anything ... I’d love a Madonna in here.”
The $80 million BNZ Theatre, at the historic Hamilton Hotel site, has joined other local venues including Clarence Street Theatre, The Meteor, Riverlea Theatre and Claudelands Event Centre.
It has been nearly 10 years in the making and was sparked by the closure of Founders Theatre.
Construction officially began in November 2021, before the Waikato Regional Property Trust, which owns the theatre, announced Live Nation as the theatre’s operator at the end of 2024.
The new theatre has a 1300-seat auditorium across three levels: The stalls on the ground level, the circle and the balcony.
The seats on the stalls can be removed to make space for a standing crowd of 1000 people.
The theatre has consent for either a fully seated audience across the three levels or for a standing audience on the ground floor only.
Gilling said there were plans to apply for consent for a standing audience on the ground floor plus a seated audience across the two tiers, which could increase the capacity to a total of 1700 people.
The theatre is equipped with an acoustic halo and acoustic shell for unamplified performance as well as a distributed acoustics sound system.
The stage was scalable through giant movable panels that functioned similarly to sliding doors.
The maximum width of the stage is 20.4 metres, the minimum 14m, allowing for intimate musical shows as well as huge ballet productions or a full orchestra.
The stage itself has a trap feature and hydraulic ramps, and there were 16 dressing rooms in a range of sizes.
Designing architect Jun Tsujimoto, of Jasmax, said the team drew inspiration for the look and feel of the space from “the local sense of place”.
“We wanted to create something uniquely Waikato.
“Something that feels like you are in the middle of nature, but also right in the city centre.”
The wooden panelling inside the auditorium represented the curvature of the Waikato River, and a lot of the theatre was built using Hinuera stone.
The Hamilton Hotel’s facade from 1923, the staircase, and Queen’s Suite from when Elizabeth II visited in the 1950s have also been incorporated.
The foyer features panorama windows looking on to the Waikato River, and a floating staircase.
The BNZ Theatre also ties the old to the new with the large-scale Ralph Hotere mural, commissioned by the Hamilton City Council for Founders Theatre in 1976.
Principal architect David Pugh, also of Jasmax, said the team had done extensive research and looked at New Zealand and overseas venues.
“We benchmarked dozens of theatres ... If you were gonna pick one [that BNZ Theatre was inspired by], it would be the Oslo Theatre and Opera House.”
“I’m blown away, I really am,” Gilling said.
“I was sad to see Founders [Theatre] go, but coming into here, the offers that this place gives, opens up doors ... There is no show that we can’t do in this theatre.”
He said there had been interest from local dance groups and community groups to hire the theatre.
“We’ve [also] had quite a few inquiries for [gala dinners] and we’ve even had our first wedding inquiry.”
LiveNation NZ managing director Mark Kneebone said the theatre’s versatility had been important.
“One of the most important things we wanted to achieve was to create and be a part of a community hub that can serve all kinds of content, all kinds of artists, all kinds of music and performance.
“[BNZ Theatre] can probably take about 90% of the different types of theatre acts in the world.
“[It’s not that we can’t do] the other 10% ... but they might be better suited in other spaces.”
Gilling said BNZ Theatre wasn’t there to steal the show.
”There’s certain events that can’t go to Clarence St [Theatre] ... there’s events that are too small for us, that can go to Clarence St or The Meteor or Riverlea.
“We aren’t here to take away from anyone; there is a need for us all.”
The theatre development hasn’t been without controversy, with concerns raised about cost, parking and use throughout the project.
First-time councillor Meshweyla Macdonald acknowledged the opening on social media last week.
“Civic moments can co-exist with real pressure on households and businesses. Recognising one shouldn’t require pretending the other isn’t there,” Macdonald said.
“Many people will never sit in those seats, because of cost, time, or priorities.
“Civic assets should be understood clearly: what they’re for, what they cost, and how they sit alongside the fundamentals people rely on every day.”
The theatre project was led by community foundation Momentum Waikato.
The Hamilton City Council contributed $25m towards the theatre’s $80m price tag, including $1.1m a year over 10 years.
The Waikato Regional Council contributed $5m, and the Government invested $12m from its Provincial Growth Fund.
Trust Waikato contributed $15m, $4m from NZ Lotteries and $3m from the Regional Culture and Heritage Fund.
The remainder came from philanthropic donations and corporate sponsorship.
City council venues, tourism and major events general manager Sean Murray said he was not concerned about the cost.
“It’s a big cost, without a doubt, but ... other parties have paid the bulk of it and actually taken on the responsibility and the risk.
“I think it’s been cost-effective for what it is. Yes, it’s been expensive, but that expense [was] shared across a lot of people.”
In response to concerns about parking, Gilling said: “Parking has been a contentious issue since day dot ... [but] coming from Founders Theatre, there is a lot more offered here.
“There are like seven public carparks within three-and-a-half to five minutes walking distance that offer around 1100 carparks, and that’s not including all the street parking.”
Another concern had been whether the theatre would be used.
“I’m pretty comfortable that the theatre is going to be used – we’ve had lots of inquiries already.”
He said the theatre would offer a 40% discount to non-profits to use the theatre, and 30c from every ticket sold was allocated to a community fund to subsidise future local use.
Danielle Zollickhofer is the Waikato news director and a multimedia journalist at the Waikato Herald. She joined NZME in 2021 and is based in Hamilton.