Sydney to get tent on remote wharf for tradeshows

10 January 2013

Today’s Sydney Morning Herald reports the planned temporary mega structure to be built on Glebe Island Wharf (above centre, just left of the Anzac Bridge) will have transport issues. The report here says pedestrian and cycle access will be restricted.

Pages Hire won a tender to build the enormous structure, which they will then operate for three years from the end of next year (2014) when the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre are demolished. The State Government belatedly recognises that simply shutting out major tradeshows like the Boat Show and the Motor Show will remove revenue from the state.

Instead of a progressive build where parts of the existing centre were shut progressively, the State has decided to also shut the Sydney Entertainment Centre in 2015. The resulting precinct will provide new exhibition space of 40,000 square metres, but most of this will have columns – and it will be on two levels.

The replacement for the Entertainment Centre will have ‘8000 seats’, but less when staging is added. The State argues most (80%) of shows at the Entertainment Centre would sell less than 8000 seats. They forget shows like Disney on Ice, or anything with extensive staging that dramatically reduces seating.

Altogether Sydney is headed for a train wreck, and the various stakeholder associations are muted in their opposition to this mess.