Gold Coast Convention Centre: Momentum builds behind $750m Broadbeach redevelopment plan
The long-time boss of the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre has warned the city’s economy cannot afford to wait another 20 years for the complex to be upgraded. FULL STORY
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The long-time boss of the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre has warned the city’s economy cannot afford to wait another 20 years for the complex to be upgraded.
The state government have no plans to expand the 19-year-old Broadbeach centre, with a recent conventions sector review finding it was big enough to meet demand until 2043.
That claim has been rubbished by concert promoters including One World Entertainment boss Andrew McManus who says the city annually misses out on $1.3 billion in economic benefit without expanded facilities.
Convention Centre general manager and Destination Gold Coast chairwoman Adrienne Readings said the business and events sector was growing rapidly and it could not wait until 2043 for an upgrade.
“It’s fair to say the convention business this year has seen a massive boost and we have had 30 per cent higher business than we previously did on the back of Covid,” she said.
“What we are lacking is the size of our centre and this means we lose opportunities on an ongoing basis because we do not have enough concurrent space to attract and keep the larger conventions which are coming.
“We are seen as one of the most popular destinations for conventions yet we have one of the smallest spaces of any city in Australia while being the sixth largest (city) and that means we need to compare ourselves to other major locations here and internationally.”
Ms Readings said Gold Coasters had been lobbying to expand the existing centre since 2013.
It comes after Aussie events kingpin Harvey Lister lodged fresh designs for a $750m plan to redevelop the Gold Coast Convention Centre into a 12,000-seat stadium and events precinct.
Pressure is mounting on the government from business and political leaders who say the Gold Coast is missing out on tens of millions of dollars worth of events which the city cannot host because of a lack of available space.
Mayor Tom Tate, Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce president Martin Hall, Surfers Paradise MP John-Paul Langbroek, Tim Tszyu fight promoter and No Limit Boxing CEO George Rose and Destination Gold Coast interim chief operating officer Rachel Hancock have all backed the need for more event spaces.
Mr Rose was taken through Mr Lister’s proposed upgrade of the convention centre over the weekend.
Mr McManus, who brought rock legends Stevie Nicks and Kiss to the city, this week said the Gold Coast was no longer a secondary market and deserved a venue that drew in promoters.
“Having 10,000 (seats) is the minimum from a concert point of view. There is no doubt in my mind as the Gold Coast grows over the next few years we could manage to do concerts of that size here and in Brisbane because both regions can easily manage that.
“There are 40 concert events a year the Gold Coast is missing out on.”
$1.3bn: ‘Ferocious appetite’ Coast is missing out on without upgrade
One of Australia’s leading concert promoters warns the Gold Coast is missing out on an annual $1.3bn economic injection without a larger events space.
One World Entertainment boss Andrew McManus is the latest figure to join the push to upgrade the Gold Coast Convention Centre, warning further delays would see the city miss out on the public’s “ferocious appetite” for concerts.
It comes after events kingpin Harvey Lister lodged fresh designs for a $750m plan to redevelop the Gold Coast Convention Centre into a 12,000 seat stadium and events precinct.
Mr McManus, who brought rock legends Stevie Nicks and Kiss to the city said the Gold Coast was no longer a secondary market and deserved a venue which would draw in promoters.
“Having 10,000 (seats) is the minimum of what we need form a concert point of view and there is no doubt in my mind that as the Gold Coast grows over the next few years we could managed to do concerts of that size both here and in Brisbane because both regions can easily manage that,” he said.
“I would comfortably say there are 40 concert events a year the Gold Coast is missing out on and, using the Derwent University formula which works out every dollar spent, that’s around $1.3bn.
“I completely agree with Harvey Lister and this is exactly what we need because the appetite is ferocious and we have the perfect weather for events.”
However, no upgrade of the current 19-year-old building is on the agenda, with a Department of Tourism, Innovation and Sport spokesman saying the state government has “no current plans to upgrade the Gold Coast Convention Centre.”
The Bulletin understands the Queensland Conventions Sector review, which was recently conducted, concluded that the existing centre infrastructure was sufficient to meet demand until 2043.
However, pressure is mounting on the government from business and political leaders who say the Gold Coast is missing out on tens of millions of dollars in events which the city cannot host because of a lack of available space.
Mayor Tom Tate, Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce president Martin Hall, Surfers Paradise MP John-Paul Langbroek, Tim Tszyu fight promoter and No Limit Boxing CEO George Rose and Destination Gold Coast interim chief operating officer Rachel Hancock have all backed the need for more event spaces.
Mr Rose was taken through Mr Lister’s proposed upgrade of the convention centre over the weekend.
Deadline: When Convention Centre must be upgraded by
City pressure for an upgrade to the Gold Coast Convention Centre is growing despite the state having no plans to revamp the facility.
Events kingpin Harvey Lister has lodged fresh designs for a $750m plan to redevelop the Gold Coast Convention Centre into a 12,000 seat stadium and events precinct.
Tim Tszyu fight promoters No Limit Boxing CEO George Rose, with business partner and brother Matt, were seen meeting with Mr Lister at the Star Gold Coast on Saturday afternoon, the Bulletin can confirm. Mr Lister took the promoters through his proposal to expand the convention centre and also have it function as a multi-use 10,000-12,000 seat stadium.
However, a Department of Tourism, Innovation and Sport spokesman said the state government has “no current plans to upgrade the Gold Coast Convention Centre.”
The Bulletin understands the Queensland Conventions Sector review, which was recently conducted, concluded that the existing centre infrastructure was sufficient to meet demand until 2043.
However, pressure is mounting on the government from business and political leaders who say the Gold Coast is missing out on tens of millions of dollars in events which the city cannot host because of a lack of available space.
Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce president Martin Hall said business tourism was an “untapped resource” for the city.
“We saw during Covid what happens when we missed out on a few cycles of major conferences and this is something we need to support more,” he said.
“Conferences mean more bums in seats who are buying bowls of pasta in Broadbeach. You cannot have a population growing as fast as our is and not expect some benefit to the economy.
“Business tourism is a Monday to Thursday proposition and an area which we haven’t fully recovered from post-Covid, so getting extra support behind this would be great.”
Surfers Paradise MP John-Paul Langbroek has long had a convention centre upgrade on his election wishlist and said it was an increasingly critical project.
He urged the state government to prioritise it and to team up with the Gold Coast City Council to deliver it.
“There must be co-ordination with Tom Tate and the council over this and the mini-stadium they are working on,” he said.
“The last time when there was talk about expanding the convention centre Labor did polling here in the city and if it wasn’t going to reward them with seats, they decided not to do anything more.”
Mr Tate said an expanded convention centre made sense, particularly after his conversations with Mr Rose.
“The market shows that the capacity of the crowd (at the Tszyu fight) was 6000 and I talked to George Rose, the promoter, and he said he could’ve sold they twice over,” he said.
“So mathematics wise it’s time to expand and really the number is 12,000 and that’s what we want – we want not just for boxing but something boutique and adaptable so that other sports and entertainment events can be there and the Gold Coast we’re ready for that.
“As for the convention centre expanding or building another boutique stadium – I’ll let the market dictate the tender for other location or arena of 12,000 but turning around I think the stadium at convention centre has the advantage of the infrastructure already in place with the light rail.”
‘It’s not enough’: Why Coast needs giant $750m events development
The boxing promoter behind Tim Tszyu’s 6000-fan Gold Coast sellout is backing kingpin Harvey Lister’s $750m plan to redevelop the Gold Coast Convention Centre into a 12,000 seat stadium and events precinct.
Fresh plans for the project, which would include a 2000-seat ballroom and major events facilities, have been lodged with the state government.
Tszyu fight promoters No Limit Boxing CEO George Rose, with business partner and brother Matt, were seen meeting with Mr Lister at the Star Gold Coast on Saturday afternoon, the Bulletin can confirm.
Mr Lister took the promoters through his proposal to expand the convention centre and also have it function as a multi-use 10,000-12,000 seat stadium.
Mr Rose, who on Saturday revealed No Limit would return to the Gold Coast with another big fight before the end of the year after selling out the 6000-capacity centre for Tim Tszyu versus Carlos Ocampo, said any proposal creating a bigger sports arena here was welcome.
“For us coming here with 6000 fans for Tim Tszyu, it just isn’t enough. Tim Tszyu is a 12,000-crowd fighter,” he said.
“We need it to happen because we really want to come here to Queensland and the Gold Coast but it would be hard to come back with Tim Tszyu without a least 12,000 seats.”
Mr Lister’s expansion proposal was “similar to what we talked about – it makes sense to do something like that”, Mr Rose said.
“It’s good for us to know we are thinking on the same page as a legend in entertainment such as him. If we had 12,000 seats we would keep coming back and back – would come here as often as we could.”
Mr Lister, the head of events company ASM Global first unveiled his plans in late 2021 and received the backing of business and political leaders.
But with the city now getting more event offers than it has space for, urgency is growing behind the need for more space.
Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre general manager Adrienne Readings said there was strong demand for an expanded convention centre for conventions alone let alone other sporting events
“We are turning away big convention business and that’s the big ticket item for this city and drives economic impact as well as these types (sport, boxing) events.
“But conventions are 11 months of the year,” she said adding one international convention finished on Saturday and was bumped out immediately so organisers could set up for the Tszyu fight – and another convention would immediately follow it.
“I just wish more people would get behind this destination with the infrastructure we need,” she said.
Ms Readings said convention expansion timing wise would be three to fours years by the time a development approval got through and the construction took place.
Mayor Tom Tate said he supported Lister’s vision “but whatever project gets up will be market driven”.
Speaking on the Tszyu fight packing in 6000, Mr Tate said: “What it shows is the market is ready for our city not just for boxing events and big promoters but for big entertainment events such as a Pink concert and first-tier entertainers who are no longer bypassing this city.”
Mr Tate said he was delighted by the sellout of the Tszyu fight but felt it represented a “lost opportunity” for the Gold Coast.
“The Gold Coast is missing out on other events for lack of a 12,000 seat indoor arena. This is hurting the local and Queensland economy,” he said.
“It is essential that we develop a proposal for a 12,000 seat indoor stadium ASAP and well in advance of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Convention Centre is one of several sites that could be ideal and I do favour a location in walking distance of the light rail with a strong night time economy.’’
Destination Gold Coast interim chief operating officer Rachel Hancock said: “One in two conferences in Queensland are currently held on the Gold Coast so the potential for growth with an expanded convention centre is enormous and crucial to boosting Sunday to Thursday visitor economy in particular.”
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