Australasia News: Gold Coast Arena; Suncorp Stadium Extends Ticketek; NZ: Coldplay & Air Travel

AUSTRALIA

Plan For 12,000-Seat Gold Coast Arena

In a bid to become “one of Australia’s entertainment capitals,” the City of Gold Coast unveiled plans for a new 12,000-seat indoor arena that would cost A$480,000 million ($316.4 million).

“The city is missing out on opportunities for elite sport and international gigs,” said mayor Tom Tate, estimating the arena would in its first decade deliver A$1.5 billion ($988,978) in economic output and inject an extra A$700 million ($461.5 million) into the economy.

Harvey Lister, chairman and CEO of ASM Global Asia Pacific, and former Live Nation Australasia CEO Roger Field had long called for an arena of this size.

The plan calls for building at Carey Park overlooking Southport’s waterfront by 2026-27, before the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The City will approach investors after public consultation ends Dec. 9.

New Names For Australian Festivals Association Board

New names joined the Australian Festivals Association (AFA) board for the next two years.
They were Pete Sofo (director of festivals & major events at Untitled Group); Adam Smith, co-founder and director of Yours and Owls; Elise Huntley, owner of Icon Associates; and Ryan Sabet, co-lead of festivals at Live Nation, Secret Sounds Group and Kicks.

Chair was Fuzzy Operations managing director Adelle Robinson with former Secret Sounds co-director Jessica Ducrou as deputy chair.

Suncorp Stadium Extends 20-year Ticketek Deal

Brisbane’s 52,500-seat Suncorp Stadium extended its 20-year partnership with TEG’s ticketing agency Ticketek following what Stadiums Queensland chief executive Todd Harris called “a very competitive tender process.”

He added, “We needed an innovative ticketing services partner to provide world-leading technology for our amazing Suncorp Stadium events.”

It gets access to TEG’s data insights and marketing research platform Ovation, which provides partnered venues a better understanding of their audiences to tailor future events to meet their preferences.

The stadium most recently hosted Travis Scott and Coldplay, with country superstar Luke Combs and Metallica on its 2025 slate.

Adelaide Festival Centre CEO Stepping Down

Adelaide Festival Centre (AFC) chief executive and artistic director Douglas Gautier is stepping down late 2025 after almost 19 years in the role.

Gautier increased audiences to 1 million-plus annually and positioned AFC as a hub for Asian-Australian cultural engagement, blockbuster productions and musicals.

He was a key figure in Adelaide becoming an UNESCO City of Music.

As part of AFC’s 50th anniversary celebrations in 2023, it generated more than A$164 million ($108.1 million) for South Australia with events including Adelaide Guitar Festival, Adelaide Cabaret Festival, OzAsia and Celebrating First Nations.

NEW ZEALAND

Coldplay Causes 87% Boost In Air Travel

Coldplay’s Nov. 13, 15-16 shows at Auckland’s 50,000-seat Eden Park caused a rush from fans around NZ to see the band on its first visit since 2016.

Bookings on domestic flights to Auckland between Nov. 12 and 16 were up 87% compared to the same week 2023, said Webjet.

This was in addition to a 47% spike in bookings to Melbourne and 44% to Sydney in line with the band’s Australian dates.

“The travel buzz in line with Coldplay’s shows highlights the rise of ‘tour tourism,’ as fans embrace concerts as the ultimate excuse for a getaway,” according to Webjet Group CEO Katrina Barry.

Fans complained of price spikes – NZ$99 ($59.14) tickets from Wellington, for instance, were up to NZ$336 ($200.72) on one airline.

Auckland hotel bookings had a 125% surge, Agilysys regional director for AU & NZ, Craig Dennington, said, with the Hilton Auckland at full capacity.