The High Court in Auckland has given its final judgement in the matter of turning the Auckland Showgrounds into a film and TV production site, saying filming ‘cannot displace or replace any event, concert, or exhibition on Area B of the Showgrounds.’
In her decision, Justice Mary Peters confirmed the Trust Board had contravened the Cornwall Park Endowment and Recreation Act 1982 in signing a lease with film studio management company Xytech, that would have privileged filming TV and film, over Events.
Brent Spillane, Managing Director of XPO Exhibitions (pictured above), – the grounds’ major customer over many years, and which runs events including the Fine Food Show*, the Auckland Food Show, and the Auckland Home Show, – was the plaintiff in the case and was awarded costs. Spillane said the amount of costs had not yet been determined but that his litigation had cost him “hundreds of thousands”.
On its publicly available annual return summary for the year to May 31, the Cornwall Park Trust’s ‘legal and professional fees’ were listed as $610,000 and ‘showgrounds expenses’ $1.36 million.
Spillane said not only was CPT chewing through money in legal fees but missing out on rental income – declining some $1.5m in short-term rental offered from an array of event organisers in past weeks.
Affidavits submitted to the High Court suggested some 18 events normally ran across the October to December period, all of which had been cancelled, while there were many large events scheduled early in the new year at the showgrounds including the Auckland Home Show, the Covi Motorhome Show, the NZ Gift and Homewares Fair, General Collective, and more.
“XPO is anticipating to run a dozen major exhibitions on the site in 2023 once CPT moves to install a compliant events-led lessee,” said Spillane.
“I should mention that large event organisers have struggled to find any availability in the normal booking schedule at the Auckland Showgrounds in which to launch any new events as demand is so high.”
Spillane said he had now asked Tataki Auckland Unlimited to escalate the matter urgently to the new mayor of Auckland, Wayne Brown who had met with Cornwall Trust Board chair, Adrienne Young-Cooper last week.
Spillane declared the judgement a ‘convincing win for the events industry’.
He has recently returned from the US where he says exhibitions and events are similarly back and booming. Face-to-face expos are contributing strongly to economic recovery, and the same can be said across Australia.
“As an esteemed industry colleague pointed out, ‘Trade Shows and Exhibitions have survived world wars, the bubonic plague, the Spanish Flu and many other epidemics and pandemics. Two decades ago, trade shows were going to be wiped out by the internet.
“They were not replaced by Guttenberg’s printing press, not radio, nor TV, not social media and they will continue as they have for eight centuries. People are craving a return to events. New Zealand needs this vital exhibition venue infrastructure back as it has been so for over 150 years.
“We cannot accept displacement to filming.”
“With the greatest respect to Cornwall Park Trust and its esteemed Board and to the legacy of Sir John Logan-Campbell, it’s time to re-open the showground’s gates and let our communities reconnect with live events.”
Things did not go entirely Spillane’s way. The judge said the Xytech deal had not breached the Board’s own Trust Deed. She also declined to direct the Trust Board to have to give any other party 10 days written notice of any intention to enter into new agreements with other parties, which Spillane had requested.
The Trust Board is free to decide to not lease the land at all, should it wish.
Cornwall Park Trust Board Chief Executive Murray Reade has publicly said the Board was “pleased to have a decision that allows us to move forward and are grateful to Judge Peters for providing clarity on this matter.
“This clarity enables us to go back to the market and negotiate with potential partners.”
Reade said several parties had expressed an interest in operating the site; he did not comment on Xytech’s latest proposal.
“We are willing to discuss any viable alternatives presented to us. We’re confident we will be able to achieve a workable solution within the constraints set by Justice Peters’ decision.”
*According to the XPO Exhibitions webpage The Fine Food Show is scheduled for June 25-27, 2023.
