David Higgins: Duco Events Promoter on the first live show at the new Christchurch stadium

All the stars have aligned for the first concert at Christchurch's new stadium.

Six60 and Synthony will open the music calendar at One NZ Stadium at Te Kaha next May - following Super Rugby’s Super Round a month earlier.

It’s backed by the Government’s $70 million Major Events fund.

Duco Events Promoter David Higgins told Ryan Bridge Synthony wouldn’t be part of the lineup without that funding.

He says these events are very expensive to run, and organisers have to make a risk-return judgement if it's their own neck on the line.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
We see the five fourteen, and the first live show
for the new christ Urt Stadium has been revealed none
other than these guys Iconic Here we band. Six sixty
Symphony is also going to be performing alongside the May
sixteenth is the date with the double head of receiving

(00:22):
funding through the government's Events Boost fund. David Higgins is
DUCO Events promoted with us this morning. Good morning Dave,
Good morning, Ron Hey, no brainers.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
The book six sixty, Yeah, who was sort of serendipitous.
So I've been talking to Brent eccles for a while
since I got into music with the Symphony, and we've
become friendly, and then we were talking about some sort
of collaboration. The government funding came along the stadium. It
was one of those things where all the stars aligned

(00:51):
and we've ended up with what I think is a
magic occasion with the two biggest bands in the country.
One is Electronic Dance with Orchestra, the other being six sixty,
the biggest man in the country together all sponsored by
Minuca fuel of course and kiwibank. So we're delighted.

Speaker 1 (01:10):
You don't have to convince me I'm coming. But how
much did you get from the government fund.

Speaker 2 (01:15):
Oh I'm not to be honest, I'm not sure what
the rules are around whether I'm allowed to tell you
or not. So what I will say is what I
say is most AUSSI states will spend this sort of
money annually and have done for a long time. And
what it does is it creates visitor night's GDP into
the economy, spend, restaurant spas are full, hotels, ripple effect,

(01:39):
plus young people want to go live there. You know,
you talk about the brain drain. If New Zealand and
Auckland spend nothing on events and then all the other
states are spending fifty million a year, the brain drain
is going to accelerate big time, Isn't it right?

Speaker 1 (01:53):
I don't disagree. Does would something like this happen without
that money?

Speaker 2 (02:00):
I personally wouldn't have put Synthony into this without this money.
These events are very expensive and put on that's a
multimillion dollar production. Secondly, you're making a risk return judgment
if it's your own neck on the line, your own house.
And when New Zealand promoters New Zealand owned, we're deciding, hey,
can we sell enough to gets in this market. So

(02:22):
having support from sponsors like NUCA Fuel, k WE Bank
and government is very helpful and it enables us to
confidently go big and put on massive Rasmataz shows that
otherwise might not happen. And it makes New Zealand a
nice place to live. And I think the overall money
is a drop in the ocean of what the government's spending.

(02:42):
When as a kid, I might have thought spending fifty
seventy million a year on his interaction was a lot
of money. And then they spend fifty billion on COVID
or whatever it was, and then I realized, how we
you know.

Speaker 1 (02:54):
Imagine if you're no jump, it's exactly pay jump very quickly.
But stadium is it expensive to put gigs on there?
I mean, this is obviously the first one that's been
put on. And how does that compare to say an
Eden Park?

Speaker 2 (03:08):
Yeah, good question. Every dealer is different, Every stadium has
a different border, different CEO. Some are not for profit,
some are losing money, some are very profitable. I've done
deals with some Corps Stadium, Brisbane, Eden Park. This deal,
you know, I think they were firm but fair, like
they wanted an exciting product for their first event, where

(03:30):
good negotiators. I think we'd land in a place that
was fear to them and fear to us. But big
stadiums are always expensive. It's not just the rental. You've
got to pay for generators and ambulance staff, and security
and ushers and you know, just traffic management and about
one hundred budget lines the public would not think about

(03:50):
on top of the rental.

Speaker 1 (03:52):
Dave, appreciate your time this morning, looking forward to the gig.
Dave Higgins. Duco Events promoted Time for more.

Speaker 2 (03:57):
From early edition with Ryan Bridge. Listen live to news talks.

Speaker 1 (04:00):
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