Allianz Stadium’s event cap costing NSW economy as much as $50m

A cap on concerts at Sydney’s brand new, $800m Allianz Stadium has been slammed as “NIMBYism”, as calls grow to change laws restricting noise complaints.

A cap on concerts at Sydney’s brand new, $800m Allianz Stadium has been slammed as “NIMBYism”.

Allianz Stadium’s restriction to just six concerts a year is the latest “crackers” example of rampant NIMBYism that is crippling the NSW economy.

Moaning from NIMBYs (Not In My Backyard) trying to close down venues right across Sydney has now grown so bad that the Australian Hotels Association is calling for new laws to restrict ­complaints.

Venues NSW chairman Tony Shepherd said it was “crackers” that the NSW government would spend $800m on the new Allianz Stadium and then restrict it to just six concerts a year.

“There is an air of NIMBYism and also wowserism in Sydney,” he said. “This used to be a thriving go-ahead city.”

In addition to music concerts, the previous stadium used to host entertainment spectaculars such as operas Aida and Turandot, as well as The Edinburgh Military Tattoo, but they also fell under the six-event cap brought in after neighbours complained about a noisy Rolling Stones concert nearly 30 years ago.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, Venues NSW chief executive Kerrie Mather, NSW Sport Minister Alister Henskens, NSW Tourism Minister Ben Franklin and Venues NSW chairman Tony Shepherd at the opening of the new $800m Allianz Stadium. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone

“This rule is constraining what would be major events for Sydney,” Mr Shepherd said. “I think it is ridiculous, we should have at least one concert a month.”

Doubling the number of concerts at Allianz to 12 would give the NSW economy a $50m windfall and create thousands of jobs.

Bruno Mars performing at Allianz Stadium in 2022. Doubling the number of concerts at the venue could give NSW a $50m boost.

A new report by Oxford Economics found that the economic impact of a stadium concert in Sydney was $7m, with concertgoers spending on average $335 on hotels, bars and restaurants on top of the average $100 ticket price.

“These concerts would have a major economic impact on the NSW economy, bringing in visitors and tourists as well as entertaining the people of Sydney,” Mr Shepherd, who is also chair of The Daily Telegraph’s Bradfield Board of Governors, said.

The Entertainment Quarter outside the stadium has been compared to the thriving scene around Madison Square Garden in New York. But while there are no concerts at Allianz this month there are a string of concerts amid sporting events at the Garden, including Mariah Carey, Dua Lipa, Andrea Bocelli and Billy Joel.

Meanwhile, many other venues around Sydney are now also the subject of complaints from new neighbours.

New York’s iconic Madison Square Garden is hosting several major concert events this month, while Allianz is hosting none.

Glebe’s Friend in Hand pub – which first poured beers in 1858 – has been the subject of noise complaints after an increase in outdoor dining.

“You can’t move to an area next to a pub that’s been there since the 1800s and start to complain about the noise,” Australian Hotels Association NSW director of liquor and policing John Green said.

“The people that try and change existing behaviours of the areas they move into should rethink because they’re risking Sydney’s reputation.”

The AHA is also pushing for pub noise complaints to be dealt with under a single piece of legislation to stop NIMBYs from “jurisdiction shopping”.

Currently residents who move in next to licensed venues can make complaints through multiple avenues, including NSW Police, the local council, and through Liquor and Gaming NSW.

A February decision from Liquor and Gaming NSW which found the Royal Hotel in Paddington “at times unduly disturbed the quiet and good order of the neighbourhood” considered complaints previously made to the council and the police. The Royal has operated under its current liquor licence since 1960 – far longer than the 21 years the complainant had lived at their current address.

Licensee of The Royal Hotel in Paddington Ellie Banfield has been receiving noise complaints she believes are unfair. Picture: Tim Hunter

Ellie Banfield, licensee of the Royal Hotel, said that it is difficult for pubs to address noise complaints because venues only find out about complaints when investigated.

“As a venue we aren‘t given the chance to rectify the complaints without them already being submitted, so it’s without our knowledge and with no proof,” she said.

“We think there needs to be a system of escalation introduced to give the venues a chance to address the problem before it is investigated.”

Michael Rodrigues, Investment NSW’s 24-Hour Economy Commissioner, said: “Pubs in particular have an important role to play in the life of our community.

“It’s reasonable to ask that residents who move near an existing venue, that may have been there for decades or even centuries, to respect that the venue was there first.”

Night Time Industries Association chief executive Mick Gibb said: “There‘s a big difference between sound and noise. Noise is a jackhammer smashing through concrete … Sound is a sign that the night-time economy is thriving.”