Vector Arena is promising better sound and more non-music events as it enters its second year.
The venue marks its first anniversary this month and has already chalked up 44 shows. More than 400,000 ticket-holders have visited the arena, with acts like pop star Justin Timberlake grossing up to $4 million in venue hire and ticket sales.
General manager Guy Ngata says year two will see more focus on non-music and corporate events, with wrestling, motocross and an ice-skating musical planned. The waterfront venue had a rocky start, coming several months late and more than $20 million over budget after builder Mainzeal ran into construction problems.
Sound quality was also an issue, with the venue's first sell-out act, American rock band the Red Hot Chili Peppers, complaining publicly about poor acoustics.
A year on, Ngata says those problems are in the past.
"We don't dwell on the lows too much. We've got a year under our belt, which in a way speaks for itself."
The 12,000-seat venue was paid for by the Auckland City Council and leased to private company Quay Park Area Management (QPAM), which will own and manage the arena for the next 39 years. Lines company Vector holds the naming rights.
Ngata wouldn't say how much the arena had made in its first year.
"It's been successful. Suffice to say we're operating."
Ngata said there were significant one-off costs involved in opening a building, which would not need to be paid in year two.
He is still working with Mainzeal to "soften" the sound and find a permanent solution to some echoing glass balustrades.
Ngata said sound quality would keep getting better as local sound engineers - and audiences - got used to the building. Tasks like advising promoters about ticket pricing should also be easier now the venue has a year under its belt.
QPAM worked with at least three Auckland City mayors, including John Banks twice, on the arena. It is one of the first public-private deals of its kind in New Zealand. Under the deal, 20c from every ticket sold goes into a community events fund, to be administered by QPAM, the council, Ngati Whatua (who own the land on which the arena is built) and a community representative. About $80,000 has been raised so far.
Ngata said the arena opened at a good time for musical acts, as falling album sales meant many artists were now making their money from playing live. "The touring market is very robust. The strength of the dollar to the US dollar certainly helps."
Ngata doesn't see things getting any easier. "You're essentially as good as your last event, and we know that."
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