Spark Arena (spark) up Kiwis’ lives

Image: Spark Arena

Spark Arena in Auckland (New Zealand) has resumed staging concerts after having played a key role as a food distributor during Auckland’s COVID-19 response over the last three months. With this, it has brought (spark) back to Kiwis’ lives in a COVID-19 world, especially for music aficionados.

ausleisure.com.au reported that on July 3, the New Zealand band L.A.B. played their mix of reggae, electronic, rock and blues to an audience of 6,000 “concert starved Kiwis” in Auckland.

Spark Arena is a multipurpose arena in Auckland, New Zealand and is one of the premium indoor music venues of New Zealand.

Spark Arena served as a food distribution center during the lockdown and more than 56,000 boxes of food and essential supplies have been packed and distributed to individuals, families, marae and other community organizations that sought welfare support due to the lockdown. At its peak, there was a team of more than 80 passionate individuals involved in the operation, comprising those who would normally be working on bringing international acts to the city.

ausleisure.com.au further reported that Spark Arena, named in Billboard’s 2019 Arena Power List at number seven in the ‘Top 10 Arenas with a capacity of 12,200′ above London’s Legendary Wembley Arena, and its smaller venue The Tuning Fork have been among the first venues in the world to welcome audience back to its fold. Global restrictions on mass gatherings of people still remain worldwide as the COVID-19 rampage is on.

In May this year, the Tuning Fork in Auckland was one of the first venues globally to successfully host socially distanced gigs.

ausleisure.com.au quoted Spark Arena Executive Director Stuart Clumpas as saying, “All of us at Spark Arena are pretty chuffed to be leading the charge to reopen our live venues throughout the world, from the bottom of the world! The L.A.B. show on Friday was up there with the best of them; a sold out gig, an audience that departed hot and sweaty with huge smiles on their faces and a production as good as any overseas act playing at this level. It’s very gratifying after our years of hard work building up local infrastructure to be finally in a position to achieve shows of this caliber with completely local crew and artistes.”

“We look forward to many more shows in the coming few months, both at the Arena and The Tuning Fork, whilst our business gets back on its feet again,” Clumpas added.

Spark Arena General Manager Brendan Hines added, “Friday’s L.A.B. concert was a much-needed shot of positivity during what has and continues to be a difficult period for the live entertainment industry. Any concerns about ticket demand or ‘the concert vibe’ were allayed, with a big turnout and audiences in great spirits right from the opening act.”

“The first concert back at Spark Arena post the COVID-19 lockdown was also important for New Zealand artistes and the hundreds of people behind the scenes made up of contractors, suppliers and casual staff whose livelihood is dependent on the live entertainment industry,” Hines observed.

Continue to follow Coliseum for latest updates on venues business news. Coliseum is dedicated towards building the best global community of sports and entertainment venue executives and professionals creating better and more profitable venues.

Become a member of the only Global Sports Venue Alliance and connect with stadiums, arenas and experts from around the world. Apply for membership at coliseum-online.com/alliance and make use of the 365Coliseum Business Center including the ‘Get in touch’ business development support tool and the global ‘new projects’ database.

• Tags »
• Auckland
• New Zealand
• resumed
• Spark Arena

« Previous News: Lying-in-the-cans AS Roma project gets nod
» Next News: Cleveland Indians mulls on name change