Festival Hall redevelopment plans a result of competition in Melbourne venue market

Increased competition from larger and newer venues in Melbourne is behind plans by the owners of Melbourne’s Festival Hall to sell and redevelop the landmark arena.

The venue's owner, Stadiums Limited, plans to sell the site and has lodged a planning application with the City of Melbourne to demolish most of the building and build two 16-storey buildings on the site.

The proposed development would include 179 apartments, 1400 metre² of commercial space and 230 car parking spaces.

Stadiums Limited does not intend to build the development, but hopes to find an interested buyer to see through the plan.

Since opening in 1915, the West Melbourne venue has played host to some of the biggest names in music, including The Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Cash, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, the Foo Fighters, Ed Sheeran and Lorde.

It has also been the venue for numerous wrestling and boxing bouts featuring the likes of Lionel Rose, Johnny Fammachon and Anthony Mundine, and an indoor tennis exhibition featuring John McEnroe.

The venue was destroyed by fire in 1955 but was rebuilt in time to host the gymnastics and wrestling at the Olympic Games the next year.

Announcing the sale and development proposal at a media conference in Melbourne this week, Stadiums Limited Director Christopher Wren said the company had decided to sell the venue because the time was approaching when it would no longer be profitable to operate.

Wren stated "I draw the analogy  (of) an old boxer facing up to a younger, bigger, stronger opponent is going to get well and truly pummelled and with the opening of Margaret Court Arena, and Hisense (Arena) to a lesser extent, we're being pummelled.

"We can see the writing on the wall … in due course, as responsible directors we're going to have to probably close the shop."

Wren said the development proposal sought to recognise the historical and cultural significance of Festival Hall by incorporating its stage and boxing ring into the design. Architects have also include the venue's Dudley Street facade in the concept.

Another director of the company, John Wren, who has been involved in running the stadium for half a century and whose grandfather built the venue in 1915, said it was a "very, very sad day", adding “it is hard but it's a fact that we've got to move on, and we've made our decision."

Images: An artist's impression of two apartment towers proposed to replace Festival Hall (top), the venue's exterior (middle) and hosting a concert (below).

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