Auckland Events Lose Millions

The Dunedin City Council has appointed directors for Dunedin Venues Management Limited, the company which will manage the Stadium. The board will be chaired by Sir John Hansen, a former Judge, who has little business experience and seems to have been appointed to give a respectable facade. Many of the finance companies which have failed in recent times, have had this type of appointment on their board.
The deputy-chairman of DVML will be Peter Stubbs, who is chairman of The Edge, which manages the venues of the Auckland City Council. He certainly knows about the risks of event management: The Edge lost $1.9 million promoting My Fair Lady in August. This is even more than the $1.8 million Auckland Regional Council lost on David Beckham.
The other DVML directors are Stewart Barnett, Bill Baylis, Peter Brown, Malcolm Farry, Peter Hutchison, Jennifer Rolfe and Kereyn Smith. There can be little complaint about the calibre of those chosen.
But event promotion is a risky business, particularly in cities with a low population base such as Dunedin. I think that there should be a public debate on whether DVML should take the risk of event promotion, or it should just hire the venue. I seem to recall Euan Soper, of the Carisbrook Stadium Trust, saying it would just be venue hire.
The ODT story is here.