Sydney Entertainment Centre To Operate Until December 2015

AEG Ogden, one of the Asia Pacific's top venue management firms, has been awarded the contract to the redevelopment of Sydney's Darling Harbour precinct, which will include the bulldozing of the Sydney Entertainment Centre.

The contract-winning consortium – Destination Sydney – also includes Lend Lease, Capella Capital and Spotless Facilities Services, with AEG Ogden to operate the $1.1 billion development, which will be known as the International Convention Centre Sydney [ICC]. It will be added to AEG's portfolio of venues that also includes Allphones Arena, Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Suncorp Stadium and Perth's His Majesty's Theatre amongst others around Australia, Asia and the Middle East.

New convention, exhibition and entertainment facilities will be built north of Pier St, while the current site of the Sydney Entertainment Centre and carpark will make way for a new “urban neighbourhood”. The Convention & Exhibition Centre will close December 2013 for construction to start on Haymarket in 2014. The Sydney Entertainment Centre will remain open until December 2015, with the new precinct to be open December 2016.

The Sydney Entertainment Centre is arguably Sydney city's primary large event venue, and will host musical acts like Gotye, Barry Gibb, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Robert Plant, Linkin Park, Pink and Bryan Adams in coming months. It was also the site of this year's ARIA Awards and is home to basketball franchise the Sydney Kings.

Today New South Wales Premier Barry O'Farrell said that the precinct would generate $5 billion for the city over 25 years.

“The redevelopment goes far beyond improving facilities,” he said, “It's also about re-shaping the city. Darling Harbour already attracts 25 million people a year and this development will create a more vibrant place on Sydney Harbour.”

AEG Odgen's Director Of Convention Centres Geoff Donaghy, who will become the CEO of the venue's new management company, added, “Utilising our international operational and marketing experience and our global venue network, we plan on taking the meeting and events business to a new level through ICC Sydney,” he said.

The development will include a “red carpet theatre” with a capacity of 8,000, a 2,000 capacity Grand Ballroom, a new ICC hotel with up to 900 rooms and a total exhibition capacity of 40,000 square metres. The Premier said today that up to 1,600 jobs will be created in the period.

The contract with Destination Sydney, the negations of which will be finalised next year, are for the three-year construction on the precinct, 25 years of management and development rights for the Haymarket and hotel complex.