April 24, 2026 • 7 mins
Ahead of the first fully ticketed event at One New Zealand Stadium, Venues Ōtautahi CEO took John MacDonald on a tour of One New Zealand Stadium.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Canterbury Mornings podcast with John McDonald
from Newstalk ZB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
So here we are outside the brand new one New
Zealand Stadium at Takaha and Central christ Tours. We know
what it's like outside, let's find out what it's like
inside where Caroline Harvey Tea from Venues Autitahi is waiting
to show us arout what's it like being the person
with the job of running this place? Now?
Speaker 3 (00:30):
I feel so extraordinarily privileged.
Speaker 4 (00:32):
I have to be honest, like I'm a wholehearted Cantabrian.
I was with the company before the earthquakes, so I
saw the demise of our beautiful portfolio of venues, including
their Kister Park. And to be part of this and
to have a responsibility of looking after this beautiful place
for the city, it's quite surreal at the moment. Obviously
it's busy and it's stressful and I feel a little
(00:54):
weight on the shoulder, but I feel more than anything.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Very very lucky.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Shall we go a look around?
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Absolutely?
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Okay, So we're in the concourse now, So this is
where all the hospitality is going to be.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Yeah, absolutely, this is all the retail hospitality. So you'll
see we've got a beautiful.
Speaker 4 (01:09):
Big craft back here and all of the retail hospitality
providers that were found from around Canterbury. So we're so
proud of this offering. Genuinely is a celebration of all
things local and it's kind of got a little bit
of a riverside, a little high type of feel to it.
Lots of those hospitality providers are in here, so really
(01:31):
not what you'd normally see in a stadium, which we're
really proud.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Of and we can't wait for everybody to get to
enjoy it.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
First, that first test run last Sunday, it said, we've
got a bit of a workout.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
How did we go?
Speaker 3 (01:42):
That was awesome? Yeah, it was awesome.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
It was just so cool just to see that first
look on everyone's face as they come in the door,
and it was so good.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
So that first to go through the tour, the style
that felt good.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Was your biggest concern or maybe what still is your
biggest concern?
Speaker 4 (01:58):
Look, we know that this building has been built for purpose,
you know, we've been for fourteen years and Apollo Project Stadium,
which we have to build so much temporary infrastructure to
make it work. You know, this is beautifully designed, It
is fit for purpose. So a lot of our concerns
actually come with what happens in and.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Around the venue. This is a new venue in a
part of the city that hasn't had this type of
activity before.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
So how people move around, how they get here, how
they leave, even for our residents, our neighbors, our businesses nearby,
you know, it's a lot of activity and a new
type of activity in this part of town.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
So that's probably the biggest s worry.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Just walking around here, I'm just imagining, well, realizing how
different it is from Apollo Projects. And I know that's natural,
but I mean just queuing up for something to eat,
this is going to be such a different experience on
its own.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Oh my goodness.
Speaker 4 (02:50):
We have here, We've got twenty three food outlets, actually
forty two in total ones you take all of the
little individual ones into consideration. At Apollo we have four,
and we actually don't have a main kitchen at a
Obviously you can tell it's just completely different.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
How is this going to fit in with all of
the other venues that you will playing perfectly?
Speaker 3 (03:15):
Yeah, this now just completes the picture.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
So we've already got a beautiful collection of venues that
give artists and sporting entities a beautiful graduation of you know,
you can go from you two played in the auditorium
of the town Hall and then they're playing big stadiums
where they could have gone to the arena in between.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
So same thing here.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
Now we've got a platform for major events which we
haven't really had so much to date, and also multi
use facility so we can have you know, business events here.
We're well pasting around one hundred and fifty hundred and
eighty of those every year.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
So this place gives us that platform to do really
changes the landscape here.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
And we're going to go next.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Let's go corporate.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
So I've heard you got some areas where the seats
have even.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
Got a French yep, just like your living room.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Well look at this Juneden Wait like this, But I
reckon this place feel so much more inviting than four
side bar.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
I couldn't say, but no, I think. I think what
we've got here versus what forsythe bar.
Speaker 4 (04:17):
Has is it's been designed as a bowl, which makes
it really connected and close. Forsyth Bar is designed with
four separate stands and so it does you know, potentially
give you a bit more disconnect, maybe slightly reduced acoustics
and maybe a little bit more wind.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
So now we'll step inside. So this is the corporate lounge.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
Yeah, this is the Autautahi Lounge, and so you'll see
here at the moment, it's sort of set up a
little bit of a hybrid way because we're sti getting
ourselves ready. But on game day this will have eight
hundred and ninety two guests, and every one of those.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Guests has a seat in the bowl as well.
Speaker 4 (04:52):
And on non game day we'll be hosting a range
of different events in here. So there's an operable wall
that comes across the middle of the room and so
we can create two separate event spaces. But when it's
open the lights of a banquet, dinner or a cocktail
party conference, this is a fantastically flexible space.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
So you're standing here having your drink and then so
easy yep out here to the action.
Speaker 4 (05:17):
Yep.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
So the beautiful big terrorists.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
If you've spent any time at Apollo, you know that
it's not a beautifully big terrace somewhat constrained. So this
is five hundred and fifty square meters long, obviously it's
a beautiful web. So and you've got I reckon that
it's the prime spot on all those leaners.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Yea do you have? Is it like the love baton?
There's a captain's table and whenever you come to an event,
you're going to have a special spot.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
No me, No, we're all hands at the pump. Yeah,
I'll be.
Speaker 4 (05:45):
I'll generally roam just to make sure that not only
our premium guests but all of our genuine mission gifts
having a good time and our team's feeling good and
confident about what they're doing as well.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
So my first time here, I don't know, you'll know,
but I'm going to pick that this is probably the
best spot in the whole building.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
Yeah. So we're on level three.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
Is basically how you would compare it to premium economy
on a plane. So it's not premium hospitality, but it
is a premium experience. So we've got two thousand guests
up here who get their own food and beverage outlets
as well as their own toilets, and you've got this
gorgeous elevated view of the field.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
I'm going to ask you question about the turf because
I know it's not artificial. And I've heard so many
people say, oh, it's artificial. Can you just clarifytly exactly
what it is for the lawn and the turf nuts
out there?
Speaker 4 (06:34):
Oh goodness.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
So I've done a lot about turf in the last
few years. But no, definitely not artificial. So the edges
are artificial, which is that trim around the edge there.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
That's why you'll see all those lights out there. So
this is a natural tooth. One other venue in the
world that grows natural grass under a roof, and that's
for South Bar and Derneda. It is a minefield of science,
so really a complex. Essentially, those turf grow lights might
be going about twenty four hours a day, seven days
a week between May and August to supplement the light
(07:03):
that they're not getting.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
With the roof there.
Speaker 4 (07:05):
It's a carpet back too, so what that means is
we need to replace any sections because they're damaged. We've
got that back up to and essentially you can roll
it and once it beats down a little play on it.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Straight away.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
I just run my hand across it because I'm a
bit of a snetic.
Speaker 4 (07:19):
Yeah, why not. You can stand on the artificial and
then have a feel for the natural ground's.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Going to do that. Oh yeah, it's quite quite damp.
How often do you water it?
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Chick it out for more from Canterbory Mornings with John McDonald.
Listen live to news talks It'd be christ Church from
nine am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Canterbury Mornings podcast with John McDonald
from Newstalk ZB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
So here we are outside the brand new one New
Zealand Stadium at Takaha and Central christ Tours. We know
what it's like outside, let's find out what it's like
inside where Caroline Harvey Tea from Venues Autitahi is waiting
to show us arout what's it like being the person
with the job of running this place? Now?
Speaker 3 (00:30):
I feel so extraordinarily privileged.
Speaker 4 (00:32):
I have to be honest, like I'm a wholehearted Cantabrian.
I was with the company before the earthquakes, so I
saw the demise of our beautiful portfolio of venues, including
their Kister Park. And to be part of this and
to have a responsibility of looking after this beautiful place
for the city, it's quite surreal at the moment. Obviously
it's busy and it's stressful and I feel a little
(00:54):
weight on the shoulder, but I feel more than anything.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Very very lucky.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Shall we go a look around?
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Absolutely?
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Okay, So we're in the concourse now, So this is
where all the hospitality is going to be.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Yeah, absolutely, this is all the retail hospitality. So you'll
see we've got a beautiful.
Speaker 4 (01:09):
Big craft back here and all of the retail hospitality
providers that were found from around Canterbury. So we're so
proud of this offering. Genuinely is a celebration of all
things local and it's kind of got a little bit
of a riverside, a little high type of feel to it.
Lots of those hospitality providers are in here, so really
(01:31):
not what you'd normally see in a stadium, which we're
really proud.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Of and we can't wait for everybody to get to
enjoy it.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
First, that first test run last Sunday, it said, we've
got a bit of a workout.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
How did we go?
Speaker 3 (01:42):
That was awesome? Yeah, it was awesome.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
It was just so cool just to see that first
look on everyone's face as they come in the door,
and it was so good.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
So that first to go through the tour, the style
that felt good.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Was your biggest concern or maybe what still is your
biggest concern?
Speaker 4 (01:58):
Look, we know that this building has been built for purpose,
you know, we've been for fourteen years and Apollo Project Stadium,
which we have to build so much temporary infrastructure to
make it work. You know, this is beautifully designed, It
is fit for purpose. So a lot of our concerns
actually come with what happens in and.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Around the venue. This is a new venue in a
part of the city that hasn't had this type of
activity before.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
So how people move around, how they get here, how
they leave, even for our residents, our neighbors, our businesses nearby,
you know, it's a lot of activity and a new
type of activity in this part of town.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
So that's probably the biggest s worry.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Just walking around here, I'm just imagining, well, realizing how
different it is from Apollo Projects. And I know that's natural,
but I mean just queuing up for something to eat,
this is going to be such a different experience on
its own.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Oh my goodness.
Speaker 4 (02:50):
We have here, We've got twenty three food outlets, actually
forty two in total ones you take all of the
little individual ones into consideration. At Apollo we have four,
and we actually don't have a main kitchen at a
Obviously you can tell it's just completely different.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
How is this going to fit in with all of
the other venues that you will playing perfectly?
Speaker 3 (03:15):
Yeah, this now just completes the picture.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
So we've already got a beautiful collection of venues that
give artists and sporting entities a beautiful graduation of you know,
you can go from you two played in the auditorium
of the town Hall and then they're playing big stadiums
where they could have gone to the arena in between.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
So same thing here.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
Now we've got a platform for major events which we
haven't really had so much to date, and also multi
use facility so we can have you know, business events here.
We're well pasting around one hundred and fifty hundred and
eighty of those every year.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
So this place gives us that platform to do really
changes the landscape here.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
And we're going to go next.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Let's go corporate.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
So I've heard you got some areas where the seats
have even.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
Got a French yep, just like your living room.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Well look at this Juneden Wait like this, But I
reckon this place feel so much more inviting than four
side bar.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
I couldn't say, but no, I think. I think what
we've got here versus what forsythe bar.
Speaker 4 (04:17):
Has is it's been designed as a bowl, which makes
it really connected and close. Forsyth Bar is designed with
four separate stands and so it does you know, potentially
give you a bit more disconnect, maybe slightly reduced acoustics
and maybe a little bit more wind.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
So now we'll step inside. So this is the corporate lounge.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
Yeah, this is the Autautahi Lounge, and so you'll see
here at the moment, it's sort of set up a
little bit of a hybrid way because we're sti getting
ourselves ready. But on game day this will have eight
hundred and ninety two guests, and every one of those.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Guests has a seat in the bowl as well.
Speaker 4 (04:52):
And on non game day we'll be hosting a range
of different events in here. So there's an operable wall
that comes across the middle of the room and so
we can create two separate event spaces. But when it's
open the lights of a banquet, dinner or a cocktail
party conference, this is a fantastically flexible space.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
So you're standing here having your drink and then so
easy yep out here to the action.
Speaker 4 (05:17):
Yep.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
So the beautiful big terrorists.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
If you've spent any time at Apollo, you know that
it's not a beautifully big terrace somewhat constrained. So this
is five hundred and fifty square meters long, obviously it's
a beautiful web. So and you've got I reckon that
it's the prime spot on all those leaners.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Yea do you have? Is it like the love baton?
There's a captain's table and whenever you come to an event,
you're going to have a special spot.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
No me, No, we're all hands at the pump. Yeah,
I'll be.
Speaker 4 (05:45):
I'll generally roam just to make sure that not only
our premium guests but all of our genuine mission gifts
having a good time and our team's feeling good and
confident about what they're doing as well.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
So my first time here, I don't know, you'll know,
but I'm going to pick that this is probably the
best spot in the whole building.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
Yeah. So we're on level three.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
Is basically how you would compare it to premium economy
on a plane. So it's not premium hospitality, but it
is a premium experience. So we've got two thousand guests
up here who get their own food and beverage outlets
as well as their own toilets, and you've got this
gorgeous elevated view of the field.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
I'm going to ask you question about the turf because
I know it's not artificial. And I've heard so many
people say, oh, it's artificial. Can you just clarifytly exactly
what it is for the lawn and the turf nuts
out there?
Speaker 4 (06:34):
Oh goodness.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
So I've done a lot about turf in the last
few years. But no, definitely not artificial. So the edges
are artificial, which is that trim around the edge there.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
That's why you'll see all those lights out there. So
this is a natural tooth. One other venue in the
world that grows natural grass under a roof, and that's
for South Bar and Derneda. It is a minefield of science,
so really a complex. Essentially, those turf grow lights might
be going about twenty four hours a day, seven days
a week between May and August to supplement the light
(07:03):
that they're not getting.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
With the roof there.
Speaker 4 (07:05):
It's a carpet back too, so what that means is
we need to replace any sections because they're damaged. We've
got that back up to and essentially you can roll
it and once it beats down a little play on it.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Straight away.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
I just run my hand across it because I'm a
bit of a snetic.
Speaker 4 (07:19):
Yeah, why not. You can stand on the artificial and
then have a feel for the natural ground's.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Going to do that. Oh yeah, it's quite quite damp.
How often do you water it?
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Chick it out for more from Canterbory Mornings with John McDonald.
Listen live to news talks It'd be christ Church from
nine am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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