The Viaduct Events Centre – one of Auckland’s premier waterfront venues – is ready for business following a whakawātea (to clear) blessing led by Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei today to mark its reopening for the first time since 2018.
“Auckland is proud to open the doors once again to this landmark building and offer it as one of our unique world-class venues available to hire,” says Tātaki Auckland Unlimited chief executive Nick Hill.
“This hasn’t happened overnight so thanks to the hard work of the team at Auckland Live and Conventions and the wider Tātaki Auckland Unlimited whānau, we are able to expand the portfolio of venues ready to welcome a range of events.”
The VEC is a 6000m² (65,000 sq ft) space that spans three levels, with eight separate rooms that make it ideal for a range of events, including tradeshows and smaller exhibitions, gala dinners, and conferences.
It hosts central Auckland’s largest banquet space with capacity for up to 1200 guests.
The building has been designed to make the most of its impressive waterfront location with easy access to five-star accommodation, world-class hospitality and a central transport hub.
Since first opening in 2011, the VEC has hosted a number of major events, most notably New Zealand Fashion Week, New Zealand Design Awards, and numerous corporate functions, dinners and conferences due to its accessibility and high performance in delivering events.
For the past four years the Viaduct Events Centre has been home to Team New Zealand winners of the 36th America’s Cup, and prior to 2018 was one of Auckland’s most economically viable venues for the region.
Interest from event organisers is already high with a total of 117 events planned for the 2023/2024 financial year, estimated to be worth $3-million.
The Conference Company managing director Jan Tonkin says the business events and conferencing sector is ready to return to the VEC.
“The re-opening of the Viaduct Events Centre is welcome news indeed for business events hosts. Its harbour views, daylit rooms and balconies make it a very appealing environment for meetings and conferences and the Waiheke Room is an ideal space for large scale dinners and exhibitions.
“All in all, as conference organisers, we’re delighted to have the venue available once again and already have bookings there in May.”
The VEC is now available following the relocation of Team New Zealand to the former Team UK base on Wynyard Point.
