YOUR local
YOUR GOOD-NEWS PAPER
www.yourlocalwaggaweekly.com.au
ISSUE 001 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2017
Bringing the stars to Wagga
“Wagga is a beautiful location with a re- tential to increase visitations to the Riverina gional population of more than 150,000 is enormous.” people yet, there isn’t a venue which can “International guests also have easy access accommodate a big music concert.” to Wagga now that Singapore Airlines flies “When Midnight Oil recently played directly into Canberra Airport”, he said. in Albury, more than 12,000 people from Chair of Destination Riverina Murray, hundreds of kilometres away traveled to Ms Genevieve Fleming believes this enparticipate in the experience of seeing such tertainment and convention centre is a an iconic Australian rock band”, one of the game-changer for tourism in NSW. consortia explained. ‘The opportunities and flow-ons for The Wagga consortium has researched the everyone living here are vast and enduring,” benefits of large entershe said. tainment and convention “Experiences are a Wagga is a beautiful centres across Australia primary reason for travlocation with a regional as well as the economic eling and the Riverina and social value of festiand Murray regions have population of more than vals and events attended 150,000 people yet, there isn’t some of the most diverse by thousands of visitors attractions in the a venue which can accommodate natural to regional cities. Milworld. Coupled with the a big music concert. lions of dollars are genmaturing food, wine and erated in revenue and for beverages being created regional towns, that external source of rev- here, there are even more reasons for doenue is a huge boost to local economies.” mestic and international visitors to choose Their audacious vision is to bring inter- here.” national and Australian singers, operas and “To have such a world-class entertainballet companies to Wagga as their only ment and convention centre is the piece de concert venue on the east coast. resistance,” she said. “With Wagga being the only venue on the In 2003, Rod Dunlop was a founding east coast, visitors from the major capital member of Country Hope, established to cities will have to come here to see these draw awareness to and raise funds for counshows. With direct flights to Wagga from try children with cancer and he explained Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne and, Can- how much more could have been raised to berra only two hours away by road, the po- assist in the research and treatment of cancer.
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udacious is a word rarely used these days but there are some recent historical precedents. In the 1940’s, Mahatma Gandhi had the audacious vision that India would gain its independence from Britain. In the early 1960’s, President J. F. Kennedy had an audacious vision for humans to land, and return safely, from the moon. Elon Musk is realising his audacious vision of electric cars being affordable to millions of people to reduce the use of fossil fuels. In 2002, Melbourne-based team behind A Day on the Green had an audacious idea to create fabulous music concerts featuring international and Australian performers playing in vineyards. Since then, more than three million guests have attended the 400 concerts generating millions of visitor economy dollars into the regional towns in which they are held. Build it and they will come is the audacious vision behind the development of the world-class Bomen Entertainment Centre to seat 8,000 patrons undercover. Also within this project is an outdoor stage with grassed amphitheatre to cater for 35,000 people, a 200-seat first-class restaurant, professional suites and café. This precinct also includes an extensive area of undercover exhibition space and car parking.
“I’ve had offers from international singers to donate their talents and put on concerts in Wagga but when they hear the largest undercover venue available has only 450 seats, they say it’s not worth it”, he said. “That means we’ve missed out on thousands of dollars’ worth of donations plus economic flow-on benefits from having visitors in the region.” “The proponents of the project will donate the venue for any events to raise money for charity which is very generous”, Mr Dunlop said. “To get this project started, as many people as possible need to contact the Wagga Councilors and state parliamentarians, Daryl McGuire, Wes Fang and Mick Veitch. ‘Phone, write or email them expressing your support for this visionary project”, he concluded. For the project to proceed, a change from the current Industrial zoning to private recreational has to be approved, a convoluted, time-consuming process due to the archaic legislation under which this Act resides. At this time, existing precedents cannot be applied so every application has to be reviewed against multiple criteria. Construction on the multi-faceted development will commence as soon as the consortium has approval from the State Planning Department and the Wagga City Council.
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