Future Victoria: Crown Melbourne to redevelop The Palm theatre to lure in Broadway shows, international acts

Crown Melbourne will redevelop and expand one of its key entertainment spaces as it looks to host Broadway shows and ramp up its offering of international musicians and comedians.

Concerts, musicals, theatre shows and Las Vegas resort style artist residencies will be targeted by Crown Melbourne under a major makeover of one of its key event spaces.

Crown is set to redevelop it’s The Palms theatre, in a move to modernise a space now mostly used for cabaret style functions, tribute shows and intimate music and comedy performances.

The Herald Sun can reveal Crown will transform the venue from a 870 patron space into world-class 1200-seat theatre, capable of hosting Broadway shows, big name musicians and comedians.

It is the second recent significant makeover for Crown, after the recent launch of Californian inspired restaurant Marmont, as the company moves away from a focus on gaming and hones in on entertainment.

Render of the redeveloped The Palms at Crown – for Future Victoria

Crown Melbourne chief executive Mike Volkert: said it would “raise the bar” for entertainment experiences in the CBD.

“It’s a really great transformation of that venue to bring in a lot of different kind of acts, doing longer residencies, that could really add cultural value to the community,’’ he said.

Work on The Palms redevelopment is expected to commence early next year and be completed by late 2026.

In addition to the increased capacity, the redevelopment will deliver a new foyer, box office and more comfortable seating.

Mr Volkert said it would “make it more of a premium venue’’ and boost Melbourne’s visitor economy.

“This is just an extension of the strategic vision of reinvesting in Crown and the broader tourism economy and continuing what is great about Melbourne as the culture capital of Australia,’’ he said.

Mitch Tambo (in orange) performing Burn the Floor at The Palms. Picture: David Crosling

While The Palms was already Crown’s stage for concerts and cultural performances, Mr Volvert said the new venue would take things to another level.

“Through the remodel we’re going to increase the seating capacity by 50 per cent, going up to 1200 seats,’’ he said.

“So that really allows us to uplift the kind of shows that we can deliver to Melbourne, which I think is great for the broader community.

“Our goal is to have residencies and higher caliber shows that drive visitation to the CBD.’’

The Palms redevelopment is expected to rival Crown Perth’s theatre which has hosted the likes of Broadway sensations Matilida, Singin’ in the Rain, The Lion King and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats.

“It will be a broad range of shows,’’ Mr Volkert said.

“We are hoping for theatre residencies, musician acts, comedians – as we expand the capacity of the theatre our options just grow.

“It just allows us to bring in a bigger variety of acts and I think that differentiation is what I think is going to makes that theatre really successful.’’

Legends in Concert event at The Palms featuring cover acts of Freddie Mercury, Elvis Presley and Cher.. Picture: Jason Edwards

Crown Melbourne welcomes 26m visitors each year, with guests spending $300m across other businesses in Victoria.

Mr Volkert said Crown wanted to continue expending its entertainment offering and revamping its Melbourne headquarters.

“This is a multi year journey for us,’’ he said.

“We’ve launched and opened Marmont, we’ve now announced The Palms and we’re really excited what the future will bring as part of our strategic vision going forward to really enhance the whole offering at Crown.’’