The Sky City Convention Centre's foyer. Photo: RNZ/Nona Pelletier
The opening of the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC) is just around the corner and expected to contribute an initial $90 million a year to the economy over the next three years.
The convention centre had been nearly 17 years in the making, from a government feasibility study in mid-2009 to official opening scheduled for Wednesday, 11 February.
Casino operator SkyCity made a deal with the government to build the NZICC in exchange for an extension of its gambling concessions. It then commissioned Fletcher Construction to build it for just over $400 million in 2015.
The construction was expected to take up to three years to complete, by it was clear by 2017 the project was running behind, as costs quickly ballooned.
A 2020 completion day was finally in site by mid-2019, but was not to be after a massive fire caused extensive damage to building in October 2019.
The centre's theatre. Photo: RNZ/Nona Pelletier
NZICC general manager Prue Daly, who has been on the job for nine years, said the handover of the keys a few weeks ago was the highlight of her tenure.
"It's fair to say it's not a traditional journey to opening that we've had," she said. "We thought it was going to be three years. It's ended up being 10.
"For us as a team, we're honestly just looking forward now."
She said the team had been been busy unpacking more than 100,000 pieces of equipment and furnishings over the past four weeks, with more to come.
"So, at the moment, we've got about 70 permanent team members, but we are on a bit of a casual recruitment drive," she said.
The centre's main event floor. Photo: RNZ/Nona Pelletier
The NZICC was looking to employ up to 500 casuals over the next couple of months.
"We will probably start with about 300 casuals and build up to 500 once we are opening and at full steam."
The centre was looking to recruit ushers for the theatre, people serving food and beverage, the Coffee Pop Up, setup teams, chefs, stewards and audio visual team members.
"We've got quite a breadth of roles across the building."
The centre's board room. Photo: RNZ/Nona Pelletier
The building has a capacity of about 4000 people at any one time.
New Zealand-based events are expected to account for about 70 percent to 80 percent of the events, which included conventions, award ceremonies, concerts, another other large events, with international events accounting for between 20 and 30 percent.
She said the international events could attract many thousands of people at one time, with a standard-sized board room providing seating for 20.
A waka in the centre's foyer area. Photo: RNZ/Nona Pelletier
The public will get a first look at the facility at a public open day in February.
Daly said the facility will be a "real step-change" for Auckland and New Zealand, with the the City Rail Link also expected to open next year.
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