Waikato Times: A vibrant nightlife - After-dark economy to get massive boost from shows

By Mike Mather

Originally published in the Waikato Times, Friday July 21 2023.

Hamilton’s nightlife has long been centred on the consumption of alcohol. But when the Waikato Regional Theatre opens there will be crowds of people in the central city for other reasons. Photo: WAIKATO TIMES.

The opening of the Waikato Regional Theatre in downtown Hamilton next year will trigger a major evolutionary leap for the city’s nightlife.

That’s the prediction from Waikato Regional Theatre general manager Gus Sharp, who says he will be eagerly awaiting to see what changes will be spurred by the addition of the new 1300-seat theatre to Hamilton.

And Sharp has some personal experience of such changes, having been involved in the $42 million revamp of the revered Saint James Theatre in central Wellington.

He observed a corresponding loss of vibrancy in that city’s nightlife hub - Courtenay Place - when the theatre was closed between April 2019 and June 2022, and the area largely became the preserve of pubs and bars.

During the time the theatre was closed - an interregnum extended by the Covid pandemic - Courtenay Place became the focus of “a lot of negative press” about what could politely be described as anti-social behaviour in and around the street - not unlike the often unruly environment in downtown Hamilton in the early hours after a Friday or Saturday night.

Waikato Regional Theatre general manager Gus Sharp: “The theatre is not the only thing you do when you go to to the theatre.”

When the Saint James reopened the tone was lifted, said Sharp - and not just when it came to media coverage.

“Effectively, things changed because there were more people out later who were spending proper money.”

The boost really kicked in from about 10pm to 11pm: the time after most shows came to an end and the theatre-goers - energised by whatever show or concert they had just witnessed - were eager to do something else.

When it opens, the Waikato Regional Theatre - seen in this artist’s concept - will change Hamilton’s night-time environment, purely by bringing many more people into town. Image: JASMAX.

“You are disgorging several hundred mostly sober people into the city after a show.

“They won’t be out there looking for the cheapest lager in town. They want to get themselves a cocktail, or a coffee, or some late supper.

“After you go to a show what is the first thing you really want to do? You want to go somewhere afterwards and talk about what you have seen.

“And that means it suddenly becomes very worthwhile for bars and eateries to keep their kitchens open later.

The view from the street hasn’t really changed, but from above you can now see the outline and some of the internal structure of the Waikato Regional Theatre, including the curve of the orchestra pit. Photo: CAMERON NEILSON/FOSTER GROUP.

“The main lesson is this: The theatre is not the only thing you do when you go to to the theatre.”

What was commonly referred to as “the night-time economy” has, until now, played only a minor role in the great swirling symphony of the city’s monetary movements.

There were numerous other metropolises around the world where the prominent presence of theatres had proved a boon to the local economy: Radio City Music Hall in New York; Covent Garden, the Royal Opera House and the Royal Albert Hall in London; the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles; and the Sydney Opera House.

“And if you look at the Civic in Auckland - there are a number of bars around that theatre that only exist because they are in proximity to it.”

While the theatre would help Hamilton establish a nightlife that was not purely centred around alcohol, the pubs and clubs would still have a vital role to play,“ Sharp said.

“We want to make our neighbours happy, and having bars and restaurants and the theatre close to each other works for all parties ... [but] a safe night-time environment makes the city so much more of a vibrant and an attractive place to be.“