Rotorua Lakes Council chief financial officer Thomas Colle, who manages the team responsible for maintaining council-owned buildings, said they had now received a plan for the work from engineers and were talking to contractors to get it done as soon as possible.
"Work on the wall is expected to take two to three days and we can then re-open."
A total of 23 meetings, events and shows were booked for the two-week closure period. New venues were found for a number of those bookings last week and one more change has now been confirmed with the Kelvin Cruickshank show on June 24 and tomorrow's Boney M concert moving to the Energy Events Centre.
The performing arts centre was closed last Thursday to enable the precautionary work to be done quickly and efficiently, the council statement said.
The decision followed a discussion last Wednesday with engineers about a potential issue with the strength of an internal wall. It was decided to undertake work immediately, as a precautionary measure, to strengthen the wall until earthquake strengthening of the building can be done.
"There is no damage to the building but we decided to take a conservative approach and to get the precautionary work done immediately," Mr Colle said.
"We want to re-open as soon as possible and while we understand there is a degree of uncertainty among organisers of events scheduled for the centre, at this stage our timeframe for re-opening has not changed from our initial estimate of two weeks."
The Spirit of Our People concert, which was to be a tribute to musicians including the centre's namesake, Sir Howard Morrison, was scheduled to take place on July 1.
However, organisers of the concert said they couldn't get a commitment from the council that the centre would definitely be open by then and they weren't prepared to waste more money on advertising and promotion.
Tribute show organiser Shay Dender of HMJ Productions said they were sad to announce the show's cancellation.
"I have been in communication with Events and Venues staff to try and get a commitment that the opening of the venue would happen in time for a July 1 date but the staff could not confirm in the timeframe required, an alternative venue could not be found either which would be suitable."
Mr Dender said it was not an easy decision because the artists were very much looking forward to performing a tribute to honour great New Zealand artists, including Prince Tui Teka, Bunny Walters, Tony Williams and Mary Yandall.
"We thank the people who have purchased tickets and apologise for the inconvenience."
He said refunds for the show were available through Ticketmaster and ticket holders had been informed of the refund procedures.
The show was to double as a birthday celebration to the late Sir Howard's wife, Kuia Morrison.
The show was to include artists
Howie Morrison
Chris Powley
Whirimako Black
Russell Harrison
Leon Wharekura
Brannigan Kaa
Rewa Ututaonga
Krissie Knap
Diane Tibble
Kahu Sterling
