$14.6M Added To Auckland Economy

This was according to research released April 4 commissioned by Regional Facilities Auckland (RFA) and conducted by The Fresh Information Company. It was based on official ticketing data from RFA venues, large-sample online surveys of event attendees and financial information from event promoters.

Of the 176,000 who attended events, more than 79,000 were from outside the Auckland region. The Big Day Out drew 41,000 to Western Springs Stadium Jan. 17, with 14,350 outsiders.

Eminem’s first ever New Zealand show, headlining February’s Rapture festival which he curated, hit capacity at the 55,000-capacity Western Springs. Of that crowd, 24,420 were out-of-towners, generating 39,290 visitor nights and a contribution to regional GDP of NZ$3.51 million ($3.021 million).

The visitors spent NZ$5.7 million ($4.9 million) during their stay, according to the study, leading to a 91 percent return on regional investment.

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band played to 80,000 fans March 1-2 at Mt. Smart Stadium, of which 40,540 were visitors and contributed NZ$8.39 million ($7.2 million) to regional GDP. Visitor spend was NZ$12.4 million ($10.67 million), and return on regional investment was 191 percent.

The rescheduled Rolling Stones appearance this year at Mt. Smart is estimated to bring NZ$3.5 million ($3.012 million) to the city, as 55 percent of the audience are visitors.