Originally published in Waikato Times, Monday 19 January 2026.
By Mike Mather.
Outgoing Momentum Waikato chairman Neil Richardson with his own personal contribution to the BNZ Theatre: Two paintings by Hamilton artist Hong Cumming depicting Sapper Horace Moore-Jones and the statue erected in his honour. PHOTO: Kelly Hodel / WAIKATO TIMES.
Every big project needs an ideas man or woman - a progressive thinker with the ability to grasp the wider picture.
In the case of the BNZ Theatre, Neil Richardson is that person.
The Momentum Waikato chairman, who has just stepped down from the role, was deputy chairman when the philanthropic organisation opted to champion a new theatre for the region in 2016.
“We could see that we could create a precinct of arts and culture - something that would regenerate Hamilton’s city centre. It’s more than just a building.”
“Momentum Waikato is proud to have played an early and enabling role in its conception and development,” Richardson said.
“Our focus was on bringing together the right partners, evidence, ambition and funding to turn an immediate problem of the closure of Founders Theatre [in 2016] and a long-held regional aspiration into a credible, invest-able project.”
Richardson said he had joined Momentum “on the proviso that I never be the chairman ... I was chairing too many things at the time.”
Nevertheless, he took on the top job in 2020, following the departure of Leonard Gardner. Now the sole remaining trustee from the time of the theatre project’s inception, he will be succeeded as chairman by fellow trustee Mark Ingle.
Richardson’s vision for the theatre was a simple but powerful one - “Meeting a community need, but with an economic payback” - that evidently resonated with many of the funders the organisation approached.
“I’d describe it as establishing a coalition of the willing,” he said. “We all recognised that the likely outcome for the city if no one intervened would be sub-optimal.”
It also fitted well with Momentum’s core ethos of backing projects that meet the prescription for what Richardson has dubbed TISO: Transformational, intergenerational strategic outcomes.
“At the time it was closed down I described Founders as being designed in the 1950s, built in the ’60s, an ugly duck at first sight, and unfit for purpose ... So what could we do about it?”
The regional theatre was achieved “with a great deal of challenge - Covid, the increase in building costs, and the urupā were all challenges we needed to resolve”.
The pre-colonisation Hua o te Atua urupā on the nearby riverbank had not been sufficiently defined in the district plan, it had been revealed - prompting Heritage NZ to hold off granting the project the authority to proceed.
Following investigation and agreement with mana whenua hapu Ngaati Wairere via the representative groups Te Haa o Te Whenua o Kirikiriroa (THaWK) and Nga Mana Toopu o Kirikiriroa - the chosen theatre site was moved about 10 metres back from the river.
“With Covid the bill went up by about 30%. But Fosters really stepped up,” Richardson said. “They have done a brilliant job. You can really see the sense of pride and attention to detail in all the work they did.”
What aspect of the theatre is Richardson most proud?
“In terms of the project? Momentum’s role, in providing leadership and energy.
“More generally, I am proud of the goodwill of so many people who came together to support it. So many people saw the value in what we were doing, and saw the new theatre as something worth backing.”