Plan to build one of Australia’s largest venues on the Sunshine Coast approved

The Sunshine Coast will soon be home to one of Australia’s largest hotels with approval granted for the $50m project with multiple restaurants, bars and a live music venue.

The Aura Hotel will be able to fit 2500 people in its music venue.

Plans for a $50m hotel tipped to be one of Australia’s largest venues will soon be a reality after the project received state government development approval.

Aura Hotel will be built on about 6000sq m in the centre of the Aura community in Caloundra South, with plans estimating that the venue will open in 2025.

The Comiskey Group, which also owns Sandstone Point and Eatons Hill hotels, is behind the project and investing about $50m into construction.

Director Rob Comiskey said the concept started after they began talking to Stockland about opportunities on the Sunshine Coast last year.

“We identified that really the Sunshine Coast lacks serious music venues and so we looked to where on the Sunshine Coast we could do it,” he said.

The venue will have multiple bars and restaurants.

Mr Comiskey said the Aura Hotel was set to be one of the biggest venues in Australia and would be able to accommodate up to 2500 music fans.

“It has got multiple function rooms, multiple restaurants, a sports bar and also a live music venue,” he said.

“It has got an amazing alfresco dining area out the front.”

Mr Comiskey said the venue would draw in artists from all over the world and feature an in-house sound system up to international standards.

“It’s something on the size and scale that the Sunshine Coast has never seen before,” he said.

“We believe that it has the opportunity to pull for the Sunshine Coast employment, economic benefit to the region and people are going to have access to bands that are coming from all over the world that currently do not stop at the Sunshine Coast.”

The Aura Hotel has been touted as one of the biggest venues in Australia.

Mr Comiskey said, once open, the Aura Hotel would employ about 200 people.

The Aura Hotel will also be located close to another Comiskey Group project and outdoor festival site, Coochin Fields.

Coochin Fields is still in the approval process with Mr Comiskey hopeful for its first shows in late 2024.

Mr Comiskey was also part of the team to deliver The Doonan in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, which opened earlier this year.

Construction is scheduled to start at Aura Hotel in mid-2024 with an expected 12-month build time.