Under the shadow of a High Court challenge and public opposition, the local exhibitions industry has one last chance to retain NZ’s biggest venue before it’s handed to overseas moviemakers
Cornwall Park Trust Board's commercial advisors have written advising they will look to reopen the closed tender process that handed Xytech Studios a four-year lease of the Auckland Showgrounds.
As things stand, the weekend's Armageddon festival would have been the last major event at the 18,000 square metre site, which has hosted public events such as the Royal Easter Show for more than 110 years.
READ MORE:
► Struggling ASB Showgrounds in liquidation after Covid shutdowns
► Stadium company in talks to take over bankrupt ASB Showgrounds
► $4.3m creditor ASB ends naming deal; furious operator lashes out
► Secret deal to lease out historic Showgrounds as giant movie studio
Much hangs on the outcome of this week's injunction application at the High Court at Auckland. Justice Mary Peters has reserved her decision and, for the time being, suppressed the identity of the overseas screen production company planning to licence the Showgrounds from Xytech.
Events impresario Brent Spillane applied for the injunction. It came after Newsroom revealed the trust board, which is required to manage Cornwall Park and the Showgrounds for the benefit of Aucklanders, had secretly agreed to the Xytech deal.
Newsroom reported in March that Xytech's Peter "Harry" Harrison had inspected the Showground buildings for the installation of studio-quality sound insulation, and hosted overseas film industry representatives who arrived in limos.
Cornwall Park, the Showgrounds and their surrounds were donated by Scottish-born settler Sir John Logan Campbell in 1901, to be preserved for the use and enjoyment of Aucklanders.
But the trust board's barrister, Matthew Casey QC, argued in court that parts of the property including the Showgrounds and 100-plus leased residential lots had been designated as generating revenue for the trust, so it could maintain the park for the public. That meant it was entitled to lease them out to the film industry.
Coast Group, an events supply company that has worked closely with the Showgrounds managers and Spillane's company, was the only other company invited to tender for the lease – but it was unsuccessful.
Speaking outside the courtroom, Coast's group director Sheldon Midgley said he received a letter on the eve of the injunction hearing from BDO NZ, acting for the trust board. "They may reconsider the position," he said. "If they lose the case, we get to pitch again. We'd like the lease to revert to us. There's no real commercial variance between the tenders, from what we understand."
The previous operator, the Auckland Agricultural Pastoral and Industrial Shows Board, was put into liquidation after the trust board proposed to hike its annual rent from $750,000 to $2.3 million.
Midgley said Coast Group's tender was three times higher than the previous lease, and showed that the events industry was a sustainable tenant for the Showgrounds.
"We believe there's no difference between the offers, they just think we're unsustainable as an industry," he said. "Which is disappointing.
“Auckland benefits from the Showgrounds bringing people into town. Turning into a film studio – not that I'm anti-film, but you can do that in Kumeu. These are central ground where we have spent years and years building and developing this industry. It can't be displaced and then start again.” – Sheldon Midgley, Coast Group
"We've said privately that we'd underwrite the whole thing, so there was no real commercial risk to the Showgrounds. So we're a little surprised and disappointed that it's even gone this far."
The court heard that 11,000 people had signed a petition calling for the continuation of public events at the Showgrounds – but till now, that's fallen on deaf ears. Beyond saying she regards the court case as being without merit, trust board chair Adrienne Young-Cooper has refused to answer questions.
Via the board's public relations consultant, Newsroom has asked the terms on which the tender process would be reopened, and whether it would be opened up to other bidders. It's asked what assurance the board can give the people of Auckland that the High Court injunction won't affect their use of Cornwall Park.
An interim agreement to put on public events at the Showgrounds expires on June 30. The last events were the big Armageddon show at the weekend, then a couple of smaller craft beer and building safety events will take place later this month.
After that, control goes to Xytech for four years, with an additional two year right of renewal – unless the trust board reopens the tender process as it has signalled. That would spell the cancellation of the big Auckland Food Show in July, the Baby Show in August, and the Home Show in August.
Again, Young-Cooper has not answered questions about whether shows pencilled in after June 30 will be allowed to proceed.
All three have faced repeated postponements because of Covid lockdowns; their cancellation would be a body blow to their organisers and to the New Zealand companies that rely on them to promote new products.
Midgley said an enormous amount of work and expense went into setting up such massive shows. "As soon as the traffic light system changed, since then we've been flat out. Given enough time to get going again, people are planning and planning. There are plenty of others, too, that are already underway and moving now."
"I genuinely believe, personally and obviously commercially, that Auckland benefits from the Showgrounds bringing people into town. Turning it into a film studio – not that I'm anti-film, but you can do that in Kumeu. These are central grounds where we have spent years and years building and developing this industry. It can't be displaced and then start again."
Auckland-born Midgley remembers his parents, who've both now died, taking him to the Royal Easter Show at the Showgrounds. "There are small memories but they're fond memories. It was pretty exciting as a kid. I remember the candy floss!
"We still try to do those sort of things with our kids – to take them to things like that, public gatherings and events. The events that have come back already have been hugely exciting – the public is right back into it. There have been massive turnouts for shows.
"The community is wanting to get back out there. We want to be a part of it, like we have been, and supporting it. And look, we do support films using the premises, when they're not being used for shows, to get in there and do what they need to do."
In the court hearing, Casey attacked Brent Spillane's standing to take the case, criticising his commercial interests in putting on events at the Showgrounds.
But Justice Peters said Spillane has been entirely transparent about his commercial interests, and rebuked Casey for his language: "Your pejorative language is overdone."
Brent Spillane said he would be eagerly awaiting the High Court verdict. "We've had a good solid day in court where our arguments have been heard, about the impact to so many thousands of businesses if this vital infrastructure is lost," he said.
He refused to be drawn on the personal attacks. "I think the judge addressed that fairly," he said. "I'm genuine about representing the public interest and the public good. And I've been nothing but transparent about my own commercial interests, and the many thousands of businesses that our our events represent.
"All we've been interested in is protecting and preserving the site for its public use under the 1982 Act."
Spillane said no decision had yet been made on his upcoming events – more notably, the Auckland Food Show next month. Everything hangs on the outcome of the court case.
"We've continued to promote and market our events, as if they were running to the schedule that they've run for decades. But obviously, we will need to make decisions once we have a better understanding of the outcome from the judge.
"What I continue to say is that there's enormous demand for face-to-face exhibitions. The ones that we have been able to run – and we have run four in the past three weeks – they've all exceeded expectations.
"Many of the events are drawing attendances that are far in excess of what pre-Covid levels were. And that's true right across Australia and across the world. So we're looking forward to moving forward with those events, and that's why this case is so important."
