Residents who live near Eden Park have thrown their support behind the venue hosting twice the number of concerts currently permitted, according to a new survey by the Eden Park Trust.
Over 90% of respondents from a survey of more than 1500 residents said they would support the venue hosting six artists playing up to 12 shows in a calendar year. Eden Park Trust owns and manages the venue.
The survey results also said more than 93% of respondents wanted the stadium to host Taylor Swift.
Eden Park Trust's chief executive Nick Sautner said this feedback from the community is "critical", highlighting a strong desire to host more concerts that aren't "restricted by consenting processes".
"Ninety-seven per cent of our residents have told us they love Eden Park, and it was clear from their responses that they also like the diverse range of events we hold," he said.
The survey comes after previous complaints about noise during concerts and sports events from the park's neighbours.
Even the initial applications for resource consent to hold concerts at Eden Park had seen loud opposition from some neighbours, particularly concerned about the impact of noise.
Sautner said Eden Park has proven it can deliver large "world-class concerts" over the past three years, which provide "significant economic and social benefits to the community and country".
"But, like any business, we need the support from regulatory bodies to operate at our full potential," Sautner said.
Currently Eden Park is limited to six concerts per year that can take place on weekdays, Saturdays, Sundays preceding a public holiday and public holidays, subject to restrictions under the resource consent.
Eden Park Residents Association (EPRA) spokesperson Shona Tagg told 1News their last survey was conducted in 2020 before and after the first concert, which saw 94% of residents "genuinely support" the six concerts consent at Eden Park.
She said ERPA have "not surveyed our members for up to 12 shows," however, the old data suggested residents wanted to see "more use of Eden Park" as large-scale events bring in huge revenue for the Auckland and the entire country.
"We would just need to survey our members and determine what is, kind of, a sweet spot for [the] number of concerts.
"I imagine if it was a concert every weekend, that could be a little bit interesting to digest," she laughs. "So I think for us, it's about having an open conversation and about us working collectively together to get the right outcomes for the country."
Tagg said ERPA operates independently of Eden Park's network of informed residents called The Hood where their latest survey was polled from.
"What we're here to do is collaborate with Eden Park, as we all live in the same community and we want a fun and vibrant community. So there are responsibilities on Eden Park and responsibilities on the residents."
Tagg said there was "no point" surveying their residents on different consent proposals when they aren't actually going ahead.
"If [Eden Park] were to go and do another consent submission, we would look at what that admission says and we would definitely survey our members to be able to go 'this is what they're applying for, are you supportive? Or are you not supportive?'," she said.
In 2020, SIX60 made history as the first band to play at Eden Park and since that concert it has transformed into a premier venue welcoming artists such as Billy Joel, Guns N’ Roses and Ed Sheeran who all performed to sold-out crowds.
This year will be the first in which music events outsell sporting events at the stadium, with P!NK performing two concerts in March and Coldplay locked in for three shows in November.
The competitive nature of attracting global superstars such as Taylor Swift led the Premier of New South Wales to increase the Sydney Football Stadium's concert quota to 20 per year in response.
"We will be exploring our options with Auckland Council to update our consent and secure more international artists for kiwi fans to enjoy, positioning us on the world stage," Sautner said.
SHARE ME