| 95 T T Kelly Deeks Much more than a sports stadium… The Sky Stadium Function Centre offers some of the city’s largest and most flexible meeting spaces. BUSINESS Sky Stadium Wellington’s iconic Sky Stadium is best known as the home ground for the Hurricanes, Wellington Phoenix, and All Blacks test matches, but when the action shifts off the field, its function spaces transform into a versatile venue – hosting conferences, gala dinners, trade shows, and community celebrations in the heart of the capital. Wellington Regional Stadium Trust commercial general manager Brandon Chik says Sky Stadium is one of the city’s most versatile venues, offering spaces for everything from intimate board meetings to cocktail functions for thousands. “Sky Stadium has an important role to play in supporting our business community, our events industry, and our wider community,” he says. “Our goal is for every event held here to be memorable and leave a lasting impression.” The stadium hosts about 30 to 40 major sporting or entertainment events a year, drawing crowds of up to 500,000 annually. That still leaves hundreds of days when the world-class venue is available for conferences and functions. Brandon says that’s when Sky Stadium can really showcase its value as a capital asset. “We’re very focused on making sure Sky Stadium delivers maximum benefit for Wellington. Whether it’s conferences bringing in visitors from out of town, or community events like Relay for Life, school sleepovers, or cultural festivals, we want to be something for everyone.” The Sky Stadium Function Centre offers some of the city’s largest and most flexible meeting spaces, including the Members Gallery with panoramic pitch views and capacity for 1500 guests, the concourse, which doubles as Wellington’s biggest exhibition hall, and a suite of lounges, bars, and corporate boxes for smaller gatherings. NEED A NEW ROOF OR REPLACEMENT? Contact us for a FREE ROOF QUOTE www.elementroofing.co.nz We install high quality, durable long-run steel roofing from Element Roofing - keeping Sky Stadium watertight, safe and game-day ready Dedicated function sales coordinators work with clients from planning through delivery, and in-house partners O’Brien Group and AV Media ensure catering and audio-visual needs are covered. O’Brien’s menus showcase fresh, local produce with options from themed food stations to formal plated dinners, while AV Media brings state-of-the-art lighting, sound, and even on-field activations. “Our point of difference is that we can go well beyond a standard conference experience,” Brandon says. “We can put on a laser light show, we can do a scavenger hunt through the concourse, or we can create unique experiences like our recent Food by Fire event, where 300 people had dinner cooked for them on the field under the new LED stadium lights. That’s the kind of memorable occasion that sticks with people.” Community connection remains at the heart of the stadium’s mission. In the past year, Sky Stadium has hosted events from Eid celebrations to charity galas, including the annual gala dinner for the Wellington Homeless Women’s Trust. Last Christmas, the stadium team welcomed low-income families for a community celebration complete with a free meal, games on the field, and Lego gifts for children donated by the Kindness Collective and hand-wrapped by the stadium team. “We’ve got a role to play in providing a sense of belonging for everyone in Wellington,” Brandon says. “When people come here – whether for a conference, a community celebration, or a sports match – we want them to feel the manaakitanga and hospitality that makes this facility special.” With 25 years of history and a fresh focus on innovative experiences, Sky Stadium is proving itself not just as a home of sport and entertainment, but also as one of Wellington’s premier destinations for business events. Supporting the stadium’s legacy are innovators such as Ecobulb, who recently replaced over 3,500 light fittings with high-efficiency LED luminaires, reducing lighting-related power use by 79%; Element Roofing, who provide roofing maintenance services; and Evotek, who have supported the stadium for many years through security access R&M services and have now extended this support to CCTV.
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