BY CHARLIE PROUDLOCK
The price tag for a proposed replacement to Newcastle Entertainment Centre has been estimated at around half a billion dollars.
It's believed the project is going to cost around $498 million to complete, and would be built next door to McDonald Jones Stadium on the corner of Turton and Griffiths road.
In wake of the looming 2027 state election, the Newcastle council has called for a $15 million promise to kickstart the project, in collaboration with Venues NSW.
The proposed Newcastle Entertainment and Conference Centre has been identified as a priority project for the Broadmeadow Place Strategy and a main catalyst for the development of the Hunter Park Precinct.
Hunter Park would transform the area into a modern sporting and entertainment precinct, capable of catering to more than 30,000 people.
Council's Government Relations Adviser Nikki-Lee Taylor says Newcastle has already proven an appetite for international touring acts.
"You only have to look at the response we've had to Sir Paul McCartney, Pink, Elton John, and now the Foo Fighters," she said.
"A repeatedly sold out stadium in itself represents a fairly strong business case
"To have a venue that is not weather dependent and specifically designed for those types of artists, only strengthens the appeal to promoters when it comes to making Newcastle a regular touring destination for big acts."
Ms Taylor went further to state the proposed Centre would serve as a major next step in Newcastle's growth as a cultural hotspot.
"We have an international airport, we have a growing visitor economy and we have a great tourism economy that grows exponentially year-by-year," she said.
"Newcastle is a great city, it has culture, it has vibrancy and that's only continuing to grow and change.
"I don't think this would necessarily put us on the map, but I think it would be part of an organic growth Newcastle is experiencing anyway."
