AEG Ogden to manage Te Pae Christchurch

AEG Ogden, the leading venue management company in the Asia Pacific region, has been selected as the operator for Te Pae Christchurch.
 
This was announced last Wednesday at AIME 2019 in Melbourne by Ōtākaro Limited Chief Executive, John Bridgman.
 
Te Pae will have capacity to host up to 2,000 delegates for a variety of national and international events. It will feature world-class purpose built facilities including a 1,400 seat auditorium, 3,600 square metres of exhibition space and 24 meeting rooms set on the banks of the Avon River. It will begin hosting events from October 2020.
 
"Te Pae is over a quarter of the way through construction. Work on the steel framework for the exhibition hall is nearing completion, giving people a greater appreciation of the scale of New Zealand's second largest conference and exhibition facility," he said.
 
Mr. Bridgman said with a network of venues across the Asia Pacific region, including the International Convention Centre Sydney, AEG Ogden had significant experience in delivering world-class events that had people wanting to come back for more.
 
AEG Ogden Chairman and CEO, Harvey Lister reiterated that the Te Pae would instantly benefit from AEG's world-class reputation and global connections.
 
"We intend applying our global expertise to showcase Christchurch's world-class innovation, techniques, research and best practices in the city's key industry sectors of Earth Science, Health Science, International Education, Agriculture, ICT and Building Technology.
 
"Our aim is to attract major conventions which will not only provide a significant economic boost but showcase the exceptional world class talent and skills of the Christchurch and New Zealand communities."
 
Mr. Lister said AEG Ogden and AEG Advantage would work "hand in glove" with Ōtākaro to achieve its objectives for both Te Pae and Christchurch.
 
"The positioning of Te Pae as a boutique, authentic, international standard meeting and events hub will act as a catalyst for the city's activation by ensuring its complete integration into the city fabric. "This in turn will assist in the regeneration of Christchurch and the Canterbury region and provide an optimal return on investment for the Crown. We are so excited to be involved with this project and our team can't wait to get started," Mr. Lister said.

Experienced Venue Manager appointed

Following the announcement of the announcement in Melbourne that AEG Ogden would operate Te Pae Christchurch, Experienced convention centre executive, Ross Steele has been promoted to manage Te Pae, Christchurch ahead of its opening next year.

Mr. Steele has served as General Manager of the AEG Ogden managed Cairns Convention Centre for the past 12 years and brings an impressive industry record to his new role.
 
Mr. Steele joined the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre in 1998. Two years later, he moved to Cairns and served as Business Manager and Operations Director before being promoted to General Manager in 2007.
 
Under his watch, the Centre was ranked number one in the world by the Association of International Congress Centres in 2014 and is in Queensland Tourism's Hall of Fame for winning the Business Events category three years running. He also oversaw a recent $14 million refurbishment of the venue.

Mr. Steele said he looked forward to utilising AEG's world-class reputation and global connections and working with the venue owner, Otakaro to achieve great outcomes for both Te Pae and Christchurch.
 
"Our priority will be to attract international conventions which will both benefit the economy and showcase Christchurch and New Zealand to the world," he said.

Te Pae Christchurch Earthquate Resilience

The new Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre is being built with the latest earthquake-resistant structures to protech the building against seismic activity. A number of buildings in Christchurch, including the old Convention Centre, were suffered damaged after some earthquakes in 2011 and 2016 hit the city. More information about the resilience of Te Pae Christchurch on the video below:

For more information, please visit tepae.co.nz