Originally published in Waikato Times, Monday 19 January 2026.
All smiles in 2022. Kelvyn Eglinton, former Momentum Waikato chief executive, Jonathan MacKenzie Waikato Times editor and Ross Hargood, Waikato Regional Property Trust chair. PHOTO: Tom Lee / STUFF.
OPINION: The opening of the BNZ Theatre is one of those moments that invites us to pause, look around, and recognise what a city can achieve when it commits to something bigger than itself.
This is not just a new building opening its doors on January 19. It is the culmination of years of belief, persistence and collective effort from council decision-makers and project managers to builders, artists, donors and advocates who refused to let the idea of a superb theatre for Hamilton slip away.
There was resistance, as there often is to bold new plans, but visionaries like Leonard Gardner pushed through and guaranteed all Hamiltonians a home run when Fosters agreed to build the theatre for a fixed price.
Without that, doubtless blowout costs from surging inflation, sky-high freight costs and the crazy Covid driven demand for building products would have been borne by ratepayers.
Behind the success of the theatre are the people.
Construction teams who painstakingly dismantled and reassembled heritage pieces. Theatre champions who kept faith when setbacks mounted. Arts patrons like Nancy Caiger, and countless other donors, sponsors and supporters. Some gave large sums, others gave what they could but all understood that culture is not a luxury, but a cornerstone of a healthy city.
When the lights come up for the first performances on Monday, Hamilton will take a step forward. This theatre will draw audiences into the city, support hospitality and local business, and give performers a stage that matches their talent. It will be a place for symphonies and opera, community celebrations and popular music, for first-time theatre-goers and seasoned regulars alike.
Most of all, it sends a message about Hamilton’s future. That this is a city prepared to invest in itself. That it values creativity as much as commerce. That it believes its people deserve spaces that inspire.
The Waikato Regional Theatre belongs to all of us. And as it opens its doors, it does so carrying the fingerprints, generosity and aspirations of an entire community. That is something worth applauding.