Wellington opens new concert and conference venue

Wellington's newest concert and conference venue - Shed 6 – has been opened by New Zealand Prime Minister John Key.

The revamped waterfront warehouse, which will temporarily replace the Town Hall while it is out of service for three years for seismic strengthening, joins Positively Wellington Venues (PWV)' portfolio of versatile venues, including the St James Theatre, Opera House, TSB Bank Arena and the Michael Fowler Centre.

The venue – which was completed in just 92 days - was officially opened by Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism John Key at an event attended by Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown, PWV Chair Chris Parkin and board members, plus other local dignitaries.

The new look venue, designed by Architect Roger Shand of architecture firm Shand Shelton, has been built to provide ultimate flexibility and versatility. While the outside maintains its original storage shed look, the inside has been transformed. Featuring retractable walls to create four different areas inside the shed with the old Plimmers Ark Gallery turned into an arcade linking Shed 6 and TSB Bank Arena. The shed has retractable grandstand seating for concerts, and maximum standing room for a performance of more than 1000.

Earthquake strengthening was also completed on the wharf's piles, with a seismic cut done on the two buildings so that they would move separately in the event of an earthquake.

Interest for the new venue is strong, with a host of international events, exhibitions and conferences already booked.

PWV Chief Executive Glenys Coughlan explains "more than 150 events have been booked across the next two years for Shed 6 and the adjacent TSB Bank Arena.

"The new look Shed 6 is an innovative and adaptable space built in a record time of just 92 days. It works in a number of configurations – either as a single 740 metre2 space, four separate flat floor spaces or a theatre layout using a highly innovative retractable seating system.

"Plus with the old Plimmers Ark Gallery fabulously rebuilt and seamlessly linking Shed 6 to TSB Bank Arena for pre-functions or registrations, Wellington now has a large scale venue offering all under one roof."

While the new venue is planned as a temporary offering to replace the Town Hall, Coughlan says this may be reviewed if demand for the space continues.

Coughlan added "this is an exciting celebration. Without the new Shed 6 on offer, Wellington's events industry would have experienced a significant reduction in the capital's ability to host conferences and other events – an industry worth more than $100 million to the economy."

The venue has already hosted regional conference and events industry leaders as part of 'Show Me Wellington', an $110 million initiative to attract large-scale conferences and events to the New Zealand.

Speaking after attracting around 600 professional conference organisers and event managers to the city, Coughlan says Wellington is working hard to lure events that might have been held in Australia or other New Zealand locations.

Coughlan explained that Show Me Wellington is an important part of this process, adding "we're aiming to significantly grow the number and value of events that Wellington hosts by actively competing with other destinations like Auckland, Melbourne and Sydney.

"Wellington already hosts around 70 Australian business events or performances, including association conferences and show seasons, each year but there's massive opportunity for growth – to double or even triple this number.

"Show Me Wellington is the perfect opportunity to show off what we can offer events in the capital."

The Convention Activity Survey for 2012 showed that of the 20,000 multi-day conference delegates that came to New Zealand, around 1500 attended events in Wellington.

PWV is looking to double that number by the end of 2014 and double it again by the end of 2016 by offering more multi-purpose facilities such as the new look Shed 6.

For more information go to www.pwv.co.nz/our-venues/shed-6/