Back To The Garden: Eden Park Opens To The World (Advertorial)

Until 2020, the only major events that Eden Park, New Zealand’s 65,000-capacity national stadium, was allowed to host were sporting ones, primarily rugby in the winter and cricket in the summer.

“In 2020, musicians didn’t have the same rights as sports people to perform on the biggest stage in the country,” says Nick Sautner, Eden Park’s CEO. “So we went about seeking consent to get concerts.”

The first breakthrough was securing council permission to host six major concerts a year, with this later increased to twelve, but by no more than six different artists, effectively making residencies impossible. At the start of 2026, however, Eden Park’s allowance was increased to permit twelve major concerts plus 20 “medium-sized concerts” per year. The six-artist limitation was also lifted, as was a ban on concerts on a Sunday.

“It was a paradigm shift for our business,” says Sautner. “We went from being primarily a cricket and rugby venue to a hybrid multi-purpose stadium, where 70% of today’s revenue wasn’t part of the business model five years ago.”

The venue drew on economic modelling studies and public consultations to argue the case to extend its concert allowance. Sautner says that 97% of the public supported the proposed increase in shows.

An independent study by the University of Auckland in 2025 found that Eden Park contributed NZ$37 million ($21.5 million) in annual GDP benefits to Auckland. The study predicted this could almost triple to NZ$107 million ($62 million) if the stadium would be allowed to host up to 12 concerts annually. It added that two separate concerts by P!nk and Travis Scott at Eden Park collectively generated almost NZ$24 million ($14 million) in net GDP for New Zealand.

With a bigger diary now to fill, Eden Park is keen to send out the message that it is open to the global touring business. “We now compete against the east coast of Australia,” argues Sautner. “In a country of 5 million, and in a city of 1.8 million, we are the venue of choice for promoters because of the stadium economics, given the fact that we can host up to 65,000 people.”

The upgrade in booking options comes in the wake of major investment in the city. At a cost of NZ$6 billion ($3.5 billion), the City Rail Link is New Zealand’s biggest transport infrastructure in history, creating two 2.14-mile train tunnels that will open later this year.

“Patrons can get from the city to the stadium in seven minutes,” explains Sautner. “All of these decisions have been transformational for the city, but they also make us more competitive against venues on the east coast of Australia. There aren’t too many stadiums globally that are seven minutes from the Central Business District on public transport.”

Eden Park has also undertaken major upgrades in the venue with an eye on better facilitating major concerts.

“Over the last five years, we invested $NZ45 million [$26 million] back into the asset,” says Sautner. “That includes modifications to enable easier access for staging and production down the western end. We’ve upgraded power, production, access, and acoustic barriers. We’ve invested, through our partnership with Samsung, over NZ$10 million [$5.8 million] in LED technology within the stadium.”

He adds that the field now has 5% synthetic fibre and operates on a lay-and-play model, meaning that the pitch can be replaced, if necessary, within 24 hours of a concert. This ensures the venue can comfortably accommodate music events and sporting fixtures in close proximity.

Past acts performing at Eden Park include Billy Joel. P!NK, Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, and Metallica. Confirmed acts for 2026 include Robbie Williams in November and Guns N’ Roses the following month.

Sautner reveals that conversations for shows in 2027 and 2028 are also happening, helped in a large part by major government support for the arts. “We’re delighted that in September 2025 the government implemented a NZ$70 million [$45 million] event fund to attract events to New Zealand,” he says.

This will also directly benefit the national economy by keeping more money in the country, rather than in the recent past when New Zealanders would have to travel to Australia to see major acts and the lion’s share of their spending went into Australia’s economy.

The goal is to have major artists and promoters now prioritize New Zealand as a touring destination on their regular tours, rather than treating it as an occasional stopover.

“We’ve got the airports, we’ve got the hotel infrastructure, we’ve got direct access into other markets, and we’ve got the scale that maximizes the return for artists and gross receipts. We are the national stadium … and our curfews allow artists to perform until 11 p.m.,” argues Sautner. “The barriers have been removed to enable artists to prioritize the New Zealand market.”

He concludes by explaining that the focus is now on getting the word out to the global touring business: “It’s very much a community-focused venue with a strategic objective to get the world’s largest artist to New Zealand. We’re open for business and we’re built for the world stage.”