2016-08-09 Services & Organisation Committee Agenda

SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                9 AUGUST 2016


Other issues identified by CCIQ Noosa

   This project could rejuvenate the Junction precinct and surrounding areas.
   This project would be substantially smaller than the proposed 4,500 seat Sunshine Coast
     Entertainment, Convention and Exhibition Centre and have a more defined market
     segment than that proposed facility.
   The CCIQ Noosa report identifies some options for management of the facility but notes
     that the final management model will probably depend on the financial model to enable this
     project to occur. 6
   An integrated development of this nature would set Noosa apart as a leader in this market
     and also provide opportunities to position Noosa as a leader similar to Aspen (Institute of
     Ideas) and Banff (Banff Centre for Leadership and the Arts).7

3.   AEC Report on behalf of Noosa Shire Council – Noosa Convention and Performing
     Arts Centre: Pre-Feasibility Review

CCIQ Noosa have obviously invested a great deal of time and energy into developing their pre-
feasibility report. Such a significant commitment requires Council to seriously consider their
proposal. We engaged AEC Group Ltd (AEC) to review the proposal. Councillors may recall that
AEC were our economic consultants who undertook detailed analysis of Noosa’s economic
profile. More importantly, AEC have also worked on a number of Queensland convention centre
projects and have been able to apply their knowledge and expertise on that specialist topic to
their review. Their brief was to examine the following issues:
     Market assessment of the proposal
     Financial costs of construction
     Financial costs of operation
     Financial implications for Council
     Economic benefits assessment.

The information below is intended to be a snapshot summary of a 48 page detailed report. Again,
Councillors are encouraged to review the report in its entirety to get not only the details of the
proposal, but also the “flavour” of the AEC assessment.

Market Assessment by AEC
   There are already 8 venues in Noosa that have capacity for 150 or more (in theatre style
     meeting format) with two at 300 and one at 350 person capacity. These are “fit for
     purpose” convention style venues associated with accommodation providers. The 150 to
     300 seat market is quite well catered for in Noosa at present.
   Across the broader region, there are already existing venues (most notably Twin Waters)
     which have 1,000 seat capacity and there is also a proposal for 850 sqm of convention
     space at the proposed Westin Coolum resort.8 These would be the likely competitors in the
     high yield market.
   Across the State, there are also a number of other regional event centres which will
     compete in these types of markets. The closest in size to the CCIQ Noosa proposal is the
     convention centre in Gladstone (which also has a performing arts theatre) with most other
     regional centres being significantly larger.
   Given the existing level of venues that exist in the 100 to 300 person market which are
     generally attached to accommodation venues, it would be difficult for a stand-alone
     convention centre to compete against those venues so its market focus would need to be
     above 300 and below 1,000.


6
  Page 12 of CCIQ Noosa Report – Venue management
7
  Page 8 of CCIQ Noosa Report – Comparative Model Scan
8
  AEC Report – page 12 table 4.2.

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