One of Auckland’s premier waterfront venues, the Viaduct Events Centre (VEC), has officially reopened for the first time since 2018, following a blessing ceremony by local Maori, Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei.
Spanning three levels, the 6,000-square-metre space features eight rooms for a range of events, including tradeshows and smaller exhibitions, gala dinners, and conferences. It boasts central Auckland’s largest banquet space, with capacity for 1,200 guests.
Located in the Wynyard Quarter precinct of Viaduct Harbour, the waterfront venue has easy access to five-star accommodation, world-class bars and restaurants and a central transport hub.
Interest from event organisers is already high with a total of 117 events planned for the 2023/2024 financial year, estimated to be worth NZ $3 million.
“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,” The Conference Company managing director, Jan Tonkin, said.
“All in all, as conference organisers, we’re delighted to have the venue available once again and already have bookings there in May.”
Prior to 2018, the VEC was one of Auckland’s most economically viable venues for the region. Since first opening in 2011, the venue has hosted a number of major events, including 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.
“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,” Tātaki Auckland Unlimited chief executive Nick Hill said.
“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.”
For the past four years, the space has been home to Team New Zealand winners of the 36th America’s Cup, which have been relocated to the former Team UK base on Wynyard Point.
