NEW ARENA UNDER WAY

Last month saw the blessing of the site of Te Kaha – Canterbury’s multi-use arena – by mana whenua, Ngāi Tūāhuriri, and the fi rst soil turned, signifying the start of construction of Christchurch’s fi nal anchor project.

An o cial site blessing of Te Kaha (the arena) and Te Kaharoa (the precinct), was followed by a soil-turning ceremony to mark the start of work on the 30,000 seating capacity arena

“This is an important milestone and the start of a really exciting new chapter, both for Ōtautahi-Christchurch and for the Canterbury region,” says Christchurch Mayor, Lianne Dalziel.

“Te Kaha will be such an enabler for the future of our city and region. We are the sporting and events capital of New Zealand, and with this amazing new facility, we’ll be able to showcase to the world the very best of what we can o er.”

The covered arena is being constructed on a large tract of land bordered by Madras, Hereford, Barbadoes and Tuam streets. It will be 232 metres long, 195 metres wide, and 47 metres high, with a minimum full concert capacity of 36,000 people.

Features include 23 corporate suites, 250m of food and beverage outlets, a 1150-square metre function lounge that’s capable of hosting a wide range of events, and 80 open corporate reserve seated areas.

Te Kaha is scheduled to open in 2025.

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LIANNE DALZIEL CHRISTCHURCH CITY COUNCIL | MAYOR

Head along to Te Pae

Although we had a formal opening for Te Pae, our amazing new Convention Centre, just before Christmas, the arrival of Omicron meant that it could not open its doors straight away.

Now it’s opening again and this time it is for good! What Christchurch has in Te Pae is a world-class, purpose-built Convention Centre, which is already attracting important global conferences. I recently opened one of these conferences – sadly, it was completely online – but hopefully that’s the last of those and we will get to welcome delegates in person once more. I was taking pictures of Te Pae when it was closed, and I discovered a commentary on the unusual design, which was inspired by a photo of the Canterbury foothills taken from a fl ight into Christchurch.

“Architects strive to ensure that major civic buildings refl ect their context,” it says.

“The distinctive Canterbury braided rivers that fl ow from the Southern Alps are refl ected in the 43,000 speckled façade tiles that wrap around the contours of the building.” What lies inside is a spectacular 1400 seat auditorium which can be divided into two 700 seat venues.

It has a massive exhibition space 2800m2 – 3300m2 , and up to 1800 banquet setting. Look out for the chance to see inside Te Pae in the near future.

I am sure you will be impressed.

MIKE GRUMBALL GM ASSURANCE OF WAIHANGA ARA RAU

Staying switched on

New Zealand’s ESI is on a path of unprecedented growth, with Government policy on energy decarbonisation driving transformational change and innovation.

To set the scene, Transpower believes ‘as much generation will need to be built in the next 15 years as was built in the past 40 years’. To meet this forecast, a pipeline of talent and workers must be found. The question is, how?

Our report explores the Electricity Supply Industry (ESI) workforce challenge and provides robust recommendations as to how the industry can best unite to pursue change and compel more workers, from all ages and stages of life, to fulfi ll their potential in this fast growing and rewarding industry.

We believe it starts with debunking myths and opening up authentic conversations about what work in ESI is really like.

ESI has a lot to o er and we can’t wait another day to really ramp up its profi le.

ESI sta interviewed for the report back up this position, sharing their positive experiences of working in an industry where there is huge value in the mahi and where long life careers are possible.

The recommendations in Re-Energise – Ngā Mahi A Māui are many and varied - most of all, they are realistic and have the backing of major infl uencers in ESI.

We encourage you to explore the full report at www.reenergise.nz and consider, act on, challenge and share these recommendations with your wider networks.

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ALISON ADAMS CHRISTCHURCHNZ | CEO

Experience it all

The fi ery autumnal colours of Ōtautahi Christchurch tell us that winter is coming but for our region’s visitor economy, it feels more like the thaw of spring.

Omicron case rates are falling and “tra c light” settings have been loosened, borders are opening, and it has been good to see more people back in the central city in recent weeks.

At ChristchurchNZ we are back in full force in the o ce together, as are many other key city agencies and businesses.

We are also in full swing preparing a campaign to welcome visitors back to Christchurch and Canterbury.

This will be targeted at potential visitors more than residents, as the goal is to bring fresh money into the regional economy.

From the recently harvested grapes of the Waipara Valley wine region to the amazing sea life of Kaikōura and the stunning vistas of the Mackenzie and the Canterbury High Country, we have so much to experience right in our back yard.

While I’m on the subject of long-delayed visitors returning to the city, how good is it that after six years, we can look forward to a local rugby test match again. On August 27 the All Blacks will take on Argentina and on August 20, the Black Ferns will take on the Wallaroos.

ChristchurchNZ is the host city agency for these matches and just like you, we’ll be welcoming the athletes with the same Canterbury warmth we show all our visitors.

ROSS STEELE TE PAE CHRISTCHURCH | GENERAL MANAGER

Only the beginning

Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre is a major piece of public infrastructure, built by the Crown on behalf of the people of Ōtautahi Christchurch as part of the city’s regeneration.

So it was apt that earlier this month, our fi rst conference was the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission, Te Waihanga Looking Ahead Symposium, where Minister Grant Robinson discussed the Commission’s new Infrastructure Strategy 2022-2052. After years of planning and months of preparation and training, it was fantastic to welcome delegates to the Centre as they enjoyed catching up face-to-face with their colleagues from around the country. Not to mention, to see our team and building performing as they were meant to... bustling with activity. And it’s only the start, with over 100 events planned for the remainder of 2022. Of those, more than 60 are multiday conferences, including eight international events. All up, they will bring over 67,000 people into the central city, and generate an estimated $37.2 million in direct economic value.

With our border now reopened to more countries, and airlines starting to come back to our international airport, we are seeing ever increasing interest in bringing conferences to Ōtautahi Christchurch.

Looking past the end of this year, we have a solid pipeline of business moving forward.

In total, through to October 2024, we have 146 events scheduled, of which 88 are conferences – including 23 international conferences – which will bring close to 150,000 people into our city, allowing us to deliver on our promise of driving economic value and making a di erence to our city.