Six60 just the start of top acts in Hamilton

It will be the first time ever that the Claudelands Oval has hosted a concert on its ground, with up to 15,000 people expected. Photo / Supplied

Often overlooked when it comes to headline acts, Hamilton is set to get its first outdoor concert in over 10 years with the announcement that multi-platinum band Six60 will be playing the first concert ever at the Claudelands Oval.

More than 15,000 people are expected to turn out for one of New Zealand's most successful bands.

It is the coup that the Hamilton event industry has been needing after being hit hard by Covid-19, with city event facilities lighting up red last month in a show of support for the hard-hit event industry across the world.

Last week, Dunedin's pop rock band Six60, who are known for tracks such as Don't Forget your Roots and Don't Give it Up, announced they would be going on a nationwide tour with the last show being in Hamilton on February 27 at the Claudelands Oval.

The concert is expected to create up to 300 jobs from catering to cleaning, and Hamilton City Council general manager for venues, tourism, and major events group, Sean Murray, said it was the start of something special for Hamilton.

"There has been nothing in down town Hamilton for some years now so the team at H3, our venue management group, set the goal to get big outdoor concerts happening in the city," Murray said.

"It hasn't been easy as we are so close to Auckland and everyone just generally goes up there for a show, but we have finally managed to crack it with Six60."

He said events were slowly coming back to Hamilton, saying it was really good there was a return to business levels for one of the industries that was impacted the most by Covid-19.

"The knock-on effect in terms of jobs is actually pretty huge. You are going to have over 300 people that will be directly employed for this event for a couple of days before and after so it is going to be really exciting for those who have been in a sort of hibernation mode with Covid-19 hurting the events industry."

Murray said originally they were planning to have the show at FMG Stadium, however the band said they had much better experiences with green space so they decided on Claudelands Oval.

"It is close to town and it just fits overall. It is a much better fit for the band."

Murray said if the concert is a success then the sky is the limit for concerts in Hamilton.

"I'm pretty confident this will be an overwhelming success and it will demonstrate to international show promoters that we can host concerts but that we can also attract the numbers they need to make it viable.

"We know and they know we have great facilities and staff and this concert will be able to show that we can bring in the numbers they need so we are quite hopeful that we can start to get two big concerts a year in Hamilton."

Murray said there is still a concern about the lack of hotel capacity in Hamilton, with the possibility that the Ibis Hotel may still be acting as a quarantine hotel for returning New Zealanders.

"I think in the case of an outdoor concert like this we are dragging people in from the Waikato and Auckland and I think there would be less of an issue for accommodation as people would be staying in their own homes nearby rather than in hotels."