Revealed: Sydney’s east needs new arena to keep major acts coming
Industry leaders warn Sydney could lose its entertainment crown to Melbourne as the city’s lack of venues forces major international acts to bypass Australia's biggest city.
Sydney risks losing its place as the nation’s entertainment capital, and will miss out on big-name acts if a new indoor arena and a theatre are not built in the city’s east.
Industry leaders have painted a bleak picture for Sydney’s entertainment diet that could see major concerts park in other cities and not come to Sydney, and blockbuster entertainment events skip Australia entirely if the city’s entertainment infrastructure issues are not urgently addressed.
Sarah Snook in The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Cynthia Erivo in Dracula, will struggle to find a home here with the lack of theatre infrastructure.
Snook starred in The Picture Of Dorian Gray in London and won a Tony Award for her performance on Broadway, while Erivo will star in Dracula in London next year.
Both shows originated at Sydney Theatre Company with local performers before producer Michael Cassel took them to the world and put major stars in the roles.
He said a lack of space and flexibility made bringing star-led productions here extremely challenging.
“If you do a star-driven play, we know stars typically sell tickets, they’re doing tremendously well on Broadway at the moment and the West End, but when could you go and do that in a theatre here in Sydney over the next couple of years?
“We don’t have that availability,” he said.
Live Nation boss Michael Coppell echoed Cassel’s call for a third commercial-size theatre to be built in Sydney, but said the government should also be looking to find space for another indoor arena.
“An artefact of the 2000 Sydney Olympics is that the infrastructure has moved west,” Coppell said.
“We feel there is definitely demand and space in the marketplace for a second arena in the eastern suburbs.”
Sydney ranks as the live entertainment capital of Australia, contributing 32 per cent of national attendance and 36 per cent of the national revenue to live entertainment events such as concerts, musicals, theatre and dance, with 10.2 million people spending $1.2bn on tickets.
But with performance venues heaving under the demand of touring concerts and productions, Melbourne could quickly take over.
“Sydney used to be 20 per cent ahead in terms of ticket sales and if you looked at any particular tour Sydney would inevitably sell more tickets,” Coppel said.
“But, for example, we had Dua Lipa touring in February and she sold out five Rod Laver Arenas and we did three shows at Qudos Bank Arena.
“The demand was stronger in Melbourne and I think you could safely say Melbourne has caught up.”
NSW Tourism Association chairperson Stuart Ayres said an indoor arena must be built in the city’s east if Sydney wants to stay competitive on the regional stage.
“When you look across the Asia-Pacific, Sydney is really short of an indoor arena that can hold over 10,000 people,” Mr Ayres said.
“With the west well serviced by Qudos Bank Arena, we need something in the CBD or in the future Bays Precinct
“And unlike stadiums, arenas are easier to fund with private capital as they are used more frequently for a different range of events and don’t have grass which prevents stadiums being used every day.”
In terms of theatre, Brisbane will catch Sydney with the number of commercial theatres when the Glasshouse Theatre opens early next year, and Melbourne already has three more commercial theatres than Sydney.
“You can get the huge and valuable sugar hits of sports, concerts, but what theatre does is eight shows a week, typically six days a week (and you have) 1500 or 2000 people coming in and out,” Cassel said.
“And that consistency is really important for all of those businesses in the ecosystem that benefit from that for traffic and visitation.”
Tourism Minister Steve Kamper indicated the Entertainment Quarter at Moore Park would likely be the location of choice for a new arena and theatre.
“NSW needs more venues to meet growing demand, which is why the (government) is committed to realising the full potential of the EQ,” Mr Kamper said.
“The (government has also) cleared the way for more world-class festivals by increasing the cap on major events from eight to 12 events every year at Centennial Parklands, and from four to 20 events at Allianz stadium, unlocking millions of dollars in economic activity and supercharging our visitor economy and vibrancy reforms.”
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