MPs urged not to blow chance for Entertainment Quarter’s $2b revamp

An unsolicited $2b proposal to revamp an “iconic” site at Moore Park is being threatened by a late-night amendement by an Independent MP.

Australia’s biggest promoter of live entertainment has urged MPs not to squander the opportunity to turn the Entertainment Quarter at Moore Park into “the jewel in Sydney’s crown”.

“Right now it is an unpolished gem but with the right attitude it could be developed and really be a great asset for Sydney,” TEG chief executive Geoff Jones said.

The Entertainment Quarter’s current leaseholders have put forward an unsolicited $2bn proposal to revamp the area with new buildings, restaurants, performance spaces and a low-rise hotel that would help create 17,000 new jobs.

Chief Executive Officer of TEG, Geoff Jones, in his Sydney office. Picture: John Feder

But the proposal is threatened by a late night amendment to the new Greater Sydney Parklands Trust Bill – by the Greens and independent MP Alex Greenwich – that would cut the length of leases by half from 99 to 50 years and make significant ­investments unviable.

“What we already know is that when top-line entertainment is there at the Entertainment Quarter, like Cirque du Soleil or Magic Mike, there is significant increase in numbers,” Mr Jones said. “It follows that if you have permanent entertainment offerings it will become self-fulfilling in terms of getting the foot traffic. It works because of its location.”

An artist’s impression of the $2 billion plan to turn the Entertainment Quarter at Moore Park into a mini-Hollywood and create 17,000 jobs.

Mr Jones said the Entertainment Quarter could rival the LA Live entertainment precinct in Downtown Los Angeles which has multiple entertainment venues including cinemas, concert halls, ballrooms, restaurants and hotels.

He said Sydney-based TEG – which owns Ticketek, live venues and sells 30 million tickets to live events across the world each year – understood the market and knew that revamping the precinct “is a really compelling proposal that will elevate the City of Sydney.”

An artist’s impression of the overhaul of the Entertainment Quarter.

Margy Osmond, chief executive of the Tourism and Transport Forum, said the proposal could generate “billions of dollars in visitor spending” while also providing an entertainment precinct for locals attending sporting events at The Sydney Cricket Ground and new Sydney Football Stadium.

“The current Entertainment Quarter is just a missed opportunity and what is being proposed there takes advantage of the missed potential of one of the most iconic sites in Sydney,” she said.

A select committee chaired by Shooters and Fishers leader Robert Borsak is considering submissions on the Greater Parklands Trust Bill which would put all of Sydney’s open spaces, including Moore Park, under one authority.