Venues NSW has now been invited to respond to the submissions as part of the formal planning process,but McGeoch told theHerald there was plenty of space on the calendar for Allianz to host more events while keeping the sporting codes happy.
“The premier has said that the stadium is for everybody in NSW,” he said,and emphasised the importance of arts and culture as well as sport.
Elton John performed at Allianz Stadium in Sydney in January.Credit:Getty
McGeoch also said concerts were lucrative,and it would “hurt us quite a deal” to backtrack on the planned increase in a time of tight budgets. He was not persuaded of a need to subsidise sporting tenants’ leases. “I’d take a lot of convincing.”
Allianz Stadium can hold 55,000 people in concert mode. The cap on concerts was a disturbance mitigation measure for nearby residents,but costs NSW millions in economic activity each year,Minns has said.
The planned changes would also allow concert soundchecks until 10pm,increase the maximum concert length from five to 10 hours for two concerts a year,and provide a curfew exemption that allows the official Mardi Gras after-party to be hosted at the stadium.
Some neighbours in Paddington and Centennial Park oppose the plan,complaining of increased noise and traffic,parking problems and anti-social behaviour,and saying the concerts should be held at Olympic Park.
The stadium was officially opened with a government-sponsored Bruno Mars concert in October 2022.
Independent state MP for Sydney Alex Greenwich lodged an objection echoing those concerns. Lifting the concert cap “goes against promises that operations at the stadium would be fairly balanced with the needs of the local community and environment”,he wrote.
Paddington Society president Will Mrongovius said the stadium’s location made it “totally inappropriate for outdoor concerts which have to be endured by thousands of residents”,but a temporary increase to eight concerts a year would be acceptable.
Nicole McKenna of Paddington said that between the concert cap and the proposed Oxford Street cycleway,“Paddington residents feel like we are under attack from multiple angles and trying to respond to,and deal with,the impact is exhausting.”
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Graham Bedford of Surry Hills said the potential all-night Mardi Gras party was the worst part. “It really is the last word in the ‘suck it up and be happy’ approach to the local community,” he wrote.
Minnsdismissed neighbours’ concerns when announcing the change earlier this year. “Living closer to the city in a global city like Sydney does mean that you have to accommodate venues like this,” he said in May. “It belongs to the people of NSW. It’s not your own personal fiefdom.”
The adjacent Entertainment Quarter precinct,Frontier Touring and Live Performance Australia backed the cap increase,though LPA said the cap should not exist and decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis.
The summer concert season at Allianz kicks off with Paul McCartney at the end of October,then Robbie Williams in November and Pink in February.
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